Honestly
by EndlessDreamer1024
Summary: Cookie and Anika hated each other, until they didn't.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N and Disclaimer: Hello, there. Boo Boo Cookie is my Empire OTP but sadly I own nothing relating to the Empire television show. If I did, Boo Boo Cookie would be endgame, Lucious would rot in prison, and Anika wouldn't be all on Hakeem's peen. I know the ending to this story but I'm not sure how we're going to get there. Hope you join me for the ride.**

 **-ED**

Cookie Lyon was never one to mince her words. Not with the man who she first fell in love with at age 15, not with the women who mistakenly thought she'd be their bitch - _cause make no mistake, Cookie Lyon was no one's bitch_ \- not with her own blood relatives. Just about everyone Cookie had ever loved had either loved her and left her, were taken from her, or didn't love her at all. After their daddy left, Candace buried her head so deep down in her books, Cookie thought she wouldn't be able to smell anything other than stale paper and dust for the rest of her life. She knew it was so she wouldn't have to focus on hearing their mama cry night after night about the no-good nigga that left her with 3 girls to raise. Damn her sisters who she would leave to fend for themselves when she went off to Penn State where she would find her rich, white eventual husband. Candace wasn't shit if she could leave her little sisters behind while she was on the come up. Of course, Cookie told her as much when Candace dared to show her face right after their mama died, about 10 years before she went to prison. Carol was still so young, she didn't understand why their older sister didn't come around anymore even though she had the money to. At least she had the decency to send them a few dollars every now and then. There was no invitation to the wedding, just a postcard from St. Lucia stating that she had gotten married and would forward them her new address once she and Randolph had gotten settled. The address only came because Candace wanted to know what was going to happen to the rest of their mother's property following the funeral. Cookie cussed her clean out and promptly told her that she wasn't getting shit and told her to ask her attorney husband about claim to property.

If Cookie thought about it long enough, she probably would've realized her fascination with Lucious when they were younger was connected to her wanting someone who was _hers_ , someone who wouldn't leave her when they went to college or when they decided they didn't want to raise children alone so they decided not to do it at all. If Cookie had a daughter, she'd tell her to keep her pussy, don't give it to these raggedy ass niggas - to get an education or a trade, something that didn't end with a prison sentence. That's not what her mama told her. Shit, her mama didn't tell her anything but to close her damn door. When she told her mama she was pregnant, Cookie's mama told her that she wasn't trying to raise no grandchildren and that she could stay with Lucious since she wanted to go around fucking. Cookie told her mama that she didn't raise the children she had and that she'd be damned if she let her kids anywhere near someone who couldn't let go of a bottle long enough to see that her 15 year old daughter was fucking. Cookie saw her mother a total of 4 times before she passed and received nary an apology for not being able to step out of her grief long enough to parent her children, not even when her mother was on her deathbed.

In the beginning, Cookie saw Lucious as _hers_. He was just as broken as she was, even if he didn't want to admit it. Sometimes they'd talk about their dreams - him making music, her getting the hell out of Philly. Eventually she fell in love with him and bore him 3 children. She loved Lucious and his dream became her dream. Cookie loved music and knew that Lucious had the talent to make it big. They both dealt drugs but Lucious wanted to focus more on his music so Cookie stepped up and did most of the business. Lucious never liked to think of the negatives so he didn't listen to her when she stated that she felt off about the last deal before she went up. $400,000 and a deal gone bad later and Lucious had his own label while Cookie was serving 30 in prison.

Going to prison was the hardest thing Cookie'd ever had to endure. She was away from her sons - _she hadn't even been able to fully wean Hakeem before she started her sentence -_ and Lucious was acting like he couldn't be bothered to bring their sons to visit their mother. She saw Jamal a few times before the visits stopped. She wanted so badly to be back home with her children. Cookie knew that Lucious wouldn't be able to handle Jamal being gay. She wanted to shield her baby from the pain that his life would eventually bring. Even more so, she wanted to shield him from his father.

The women in prison were hard but Cookie was determined to be harder. " _You gon run that pussy for me, bitch"_ was the first and last time someone attempted to rape Cookie while in prison. Cookie fought with everything she had and her attempted rapist ended up with a broken eye socket and lacerated liver while Cookie ended up with 2 months in the Shu. Once she got out, no one messed with Cookie physically, but that didn't stop the women from commenting once Lucious' star started shining brighter and his visits became far and few in between. Eventually she received the divorce papers in the mail and the comments were deafening. Cookie prayed for death but either God wasn't listening to her or he was too busy with the other women who received their mail and decided that they weren't going to wait on God. They were going to take their lives into their own hands, quite literally. Cookie endured 17 long years out of the 30 she was originally sentenced but she made it out and was determined to have what was rightfully hers returned to her. So when she walked through Empire's doors and into Lucious' office, she thought she'd state her place within the company, make her demands and climb her way to the top of the throne that was rightfully hers.

When she strode into the office, she was hit with the magnitude of Lucious' success which developed while she had been in prison. She gazed at his awards, his records, and paused at the picture of him with his new queen. Anika was a hot little trollop but Cookie paid the photo no mind because she knew if she wanted Lucious back- _which she didn't at the time-_ she could have him. It wasn't until he told her that she couldn't have the A&R position and that she realized the trollop from the photo held the coveted position that she got angry again. Everything she wanted in life had taken from her but it stopped with Empire and it stopped with her children. When Anika walked into Lucious' office, Cookie didn't know what possessed her to call Anika 'Boo Boo Kitty' but she knew it struck a nerve and that's what mattered most at the moment. The bitch had her position, her ex-husband, and Cookie would let Anika know how she felt about it.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm taking liberties with timing. I don't plan on having Laz exist in this story so no kidnapping Hakeem. A & H did sleep together, but Anika didn't get pregnant. Let's see how it works out. **

**-ED**

Anika doesn't know what Lucious ever saw in Loretha "Cookie" Lyon. Or Malcolm. She doesn't understand why men flock to a woman who started having children before she had a proper sex-ed class. Cookie dealt drugs and spent the majority of her youngest son's life in prison. She changes animal prints as she changes clothes. She's cruel - _vicious_ , especially when it comes to her children and protecting what she deems as hers; although if Anika were honest with herself and not purposely trying to find reasons to hate Cookie, she'd realize that the latter was actually a compliment. If Anika were honest with herself, she'd realize that she's so focused on tearing Cookie down because it's better than pining after what she can't have.

Anika has slept with two of the Lyon men, both regrettable actions even if she truly loved Lucious at one point. Hakeem was a moment of weakness, even if he did blow her back out. Honestly, Lucious was better than his son in bed. Shit, Anika wouldn't have been able to compare the two if she wasn't so frustrated with Cookie. She hates herself for how much she wants to please the older woman. She hates herself for just wishing that Cookie would _see_ her instead of throwing jabs and sometimes hands whenever they were in the same vicinity.

Getting intimate with Hakeem was a way of getting back at his mother for ignoring her she was disgusted with herself as soon as she came. How do you get back at the woman who continues to break your heart? Fuck the other heartbroken person. Anika knows that she can never tell a soul about what happened and she promised Hakeem that she would crush his ball sack with her Louboutins if he fixed his mouth to say anything about their tryst. If anything, Cookie finding out that she slept with Hakeem would make her hate Anika even more, if that were possible. It's a shame, really, because Anika sometimes has to bite her lip until it bleeds to keep from thinking about how good Cookie would be in bed. Cookie never does anything half-assed so she knows Cookie would have her speaking in tongues with her tongue. The whole situation is fucked up because it's not like Anika even wanted to be in this position.

Anika didn't set out to fall in love with Lucious just like she didn't set out to sleep with Hakeem. Lucious had been after her since she had started at Empire. The Caymanian beauty, having been educated on the Islands before returning to the States to receive both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from NYU, was determined to rise within the Empire record label on her merits alone and not Lucious' penis. He eventually wore her down and they had a lunch date where Lucious shared his dreams for the label and his artists and spoke highly of his sons although he was adamant that Jamal's sexuality was a choice. During the lunch date Anika was quick to educate the man on the fluidity of sexuality although Lucious didn't care what she had to say about the subject and told her as much. Anika knew Lucious didn't give a damn about what she was saying in reference to his son's sexuality be _she'd_ be damned if she condoned bigotry. He spoke of his ex-wife and the love he had for her prior to their divorce. Anika knew bullshit when she heard it and knew that if Lucious tried to lie and say Cookie was a piece of shit, it'd be false. Even after 17 years, Anika was able to hear the love Lucious had for Cookie permeate in his voice. Oh yes, Anika had heard all about the great Cookie Lyon before she stepped through Empire's glass doors. The debutante initially wasn't threatened by Cookie's presence. At least that's what she told herself. The moment Cookie called her Boo Boo Kitty, she knew her relationship with Lucious was going to end.

The heart of his Empire had returned and she knew how selfish Lucious was; Cookie would be in their bed, if not physically then in spirit. These days, Anika finds herself wanting Cookie in _her_ bed, sans Lucious. She doesn't know what hurts worse: knowing she'll never have Cookie because Cookie hates her, or knowing that she'll never have Cookie because she almost married her ex-husband and slept with her son. At night when Anika is in bed, right before she goes to sleep following the orgasm brought on by her fingers and thoughts of Cookie, she wonders what they could've been had she not fucked up their circumstances by sleeping with Hakeem. Lucious is forgivable, she thinks. They both fucked him - with just him, it's even. Unfortunately, she laments before her eyes close for good, she'll never get the chance to find out.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Lucious isn't a killer, just an asshole.**

 **-ED**

When Cookie is first released from prison, she vows that she's going to get what is hers, starting with Empire and her family. She watches Jamal sing and she's so proud of how far he's come. Not having his father's approval eats at him no matter how strong of a front he tries to put up. Jamal has finished singing and is twinkling on the keys now when he calls her over.

"So, what'd you think?"

Cookie looks over at him and for a brief moment sees the little boy that Lucious threw into the trashcan after putting on a pair of her heels and strutting in front of their family and friends. "You were great, baby. I know your father is placing his attention on Hakee-"

"I don't need him to make music, ma. I'm my own artist and I don't need him backing me up. Hakeem can have him."

Cookie doesn't stop the eye roll that comes as her son tries to act like his hurt isn't written on his face. "It's not about _having_ him. You're signed to his- _our_ label and you deserve to have your label representing you. You have, what? 100 people that follow your music? And the majority of them are those white people who wear them glasses and have their hair in buns all the damn time. You have all this talent, Mal, and no one knows about it because you don't have the proper representation. What you need is-"

"What I _need_ is to keep doing my thing and not letting this thing with Hakeem keep me distracte-"

"No, what you _need_ to do is stop" Cookie goes to hit him upside the head and he flinches as she hits her mark "interrupting me and listen! You're so caught up in trying to act like your daddy not accepting you doesn't bother you when it's spilling over to your career and it's taking a hit, baby. Look, why don't you let me manage you. Jamal, you have a talent that the world needs to see. Let me help you." Jamal looks at his mother and sees the vulnerability that she didn't have the luxury of expressing while she was locked up. He hears the apology hidden behind the request to manage him. The apology for not being the mother he needed when he was younger, for leaving him with a father who didn't know how to love a son like him.

"I'll think about it, ma. Alright?"

Cookie let's a small smirk slip before she lifts her eyes to meet Jamal's. "Alright. And you let me handle your father. I know how to get him to see my point of view."

Jamal scrunches up his face, "Ew, ma. I don't need to know how you plan on _persuading_ dad. Besides, I don't think Anika would like you pushing up on her man. I think he's trying to marry her. For real."

" _First of all_ , ain't nobody trying to sleep with your daddy but that fake-ass Halle Berry. _Second of all_ , don't nobody care about your daddy and Boo Boo Kitty. The only thing I care about is securing my place in Empire and getting your career back on track. And getting your brothers back," Cookie says, her voice getting soft at think he mention of her oldest and youngest sons. Jamal rubs his mother's shoulder and starts twinkling on the piano again.

Cookie walks up to Lucious and Anika's home and uses the lion door knocker to announce her presence. She doesn't wait for the door to fully open before barging her way into the grand home. She's talking to Lucious in the foyer when Anika comes down the stairs in nothing but lingerie. Cookie recognizes the move as Anika trying to stake her claim as the woman in Lucious' life but she can't help but be distracted by the body in front of her. She looks Anika up and down before walking towards the area where she assumes the living room is. She takes another look at Anika's backside before turning around and completing her trek to the living room. After spending 17 years in prison, Cookie learned to appreciate the female form. Anika has a nice body and had they been locked up together, Cookie would've had her head between Anika's legs and vice versa. But she's not in prison anymore and she doesn't like the bitch so with one last look at her ass, Cookie focuses on the task at hand.

She doesn't expect Lucious to give up Jamal without a fight, but she doesn't expect to have him flat out tell her no and dismiss her like she wasn't Empire's benefactor. One threat to go to the SEC and a non-disclosure agreement later and Jamal was officially hers, on paper if not in practice. She's gotten one of her sons back and she's trying to work on the other two. Hakeem is just so _angry_. Everytime she's in the same room with him, she feels his anger and fear coming off of him in droves and it all but kills any hope that he'll actually come around and let her be his mother again. Andre, she's realizing, is a pipe dream. He's stuck under his father's thumb trying to gain his approval but it's not working because he doesn't have the talent his brothers have. Cookie knows it kills her oldest to try so hard knowing that he's never going to measure up in his father's eyes.

* * *

Since becoming Jamal's manager, Cookie has been working day in and day out to try to salvage her son's career. She's at home working on a list of new producers who she thinks can improve the sound that Jamal has already acquired when she hears a knock on the door. Upon opening it, she sees Lucious leaning against the door jam and holding a rose. She goes to slam the door in his face but he catches the door and slides in making himself comfortable in her living area. Cookie closes the door before making her way to him.

"Lucious, didn't nobody tell you you could come in here! Get out!" Cookie yells as she's trying to work out just why the fuck he's in her apartment.

"Aw, Cook. Don't be like that. It's been a while since I've seen you on this date. I just thought I'd see how you were doing," Lucious states as he makes himself comfortable on her couch, in her spot. _No this nigga…._

"The fuck are you talking about? And don't make yourself comfortable. You ain't staying," she crosses her arms and leans against the entry way table.

"What? Don't tell me you forgot?" Lucious looks her over as she continues to put distance between them. He has to admit, she still looks good, even after 17 years and 3 kids. Would've been four had she not miscarried right before she went to jail. Lucious can't help but to ponder over his child that could've been. Not gay, not sick, not a cry baby. Maybe he could've been his successor. He'll never know. "I guess you did…" he trails off as he gets up from the couch and strolls over to Cookie. He slides the rose against her face, down her neck, between her breasts, and trailing down. "Never thought I'd see the day where you forgot our anniversary, Cook."

Cookie's ready to slap him as he plays with the rose but stops cold. _Had she really forgotten their anniversary? She fought so hard to let him go while she was locked up that March 21st simple became another day to her._ Before she knows it, Lucious has stepped even further into her space. She pushes him away and sidesteps him, making her way back to the couch. "Why are you worrying about our anniversary? We're done. You should be worried about that fake-ass Halle Berry you got at home." Cookie pauses at the thought of Anika and the memory of the other woman in lingerie flashes in her mind. Lucious walks over and sits next to her. He places the rose in her lap before rubbing her thigh softly. "We were always a good match, Cook. You and me, against the world," he says softly, pausing in his ministrations. Cookie looks up from the rose on her lap and the hand on her thigh and sees Lucious, sees a glimpse of the man she fell in love with all those years ago. Cookie never felt as weak as when she did when she let Lucious kiss her. She slides up into his lap and grinds on him, allowing his hands to travel around places that were once so familiar to him. He tries to move them to the bed but she grounds her weight against him and pushes him inside of her before he can try again. She's rocking, rocking, rocking before she comes with a short gasp. Cookie lays against his chest and tries to catch her breathing as Lucious is rubbing her back and kisses the crown of her head. _This_ is why she fought so hard to leave March 21st behind. They lay together for a little while longer before Lucious has to leave and go back to Boo Boo Kitty. Cookie almost feels bad for the girl but she remembers that she has her position, her ex-husband, _although that may not be an issue now,_ and was able to spend years with her sons when she wasn't able to. Cookie knows the latter isn't the younger woman's fault but she's not trying to be rational at the moment. One more kiss and Lucious is gone, back to his kitten. Cookie goes back to work.

* * *

Cookie is livid. She thought Lucious had called her to Empire to let her know that he wanted to give them another try. That he realized he left his heart when he left her the week before. He'd been spending more time in her office and they'd had a couple of quickies but nothing like the night of their anniversary. Here she was, sitting in a trench ready to have her back blown out when she's assaulted with the news that he's going to marry fake-ass Halle Berry. She stands up and opens her trench coat, showing her entire family what she had been planning to give Lucious later that night before he played her. She watches Anika's eyes roam before meeting hers. Cookie is angry again.

"Oh, and Anika?" she starts before turning to show the room, " _this_ is an ass," she says, jiggling it for good measure. She turns back around.

"The same ass Lucious saw the other night when he fucked me on our anniversary." And with that, she leaves the room, not knowing the storm she'd caused. Not seeing the look of appreciation on Anika's face before it turned into shock and anger.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Writing this chapter was harder than I thought it'd be, but only because I despise the Anika/Hakeem arc but it had to be done. Anika should really learn that the Lyons bring nothing but trouble.**

 **-ED**

Honestly, Anika is surprised it took this long for Cookie and Lucious to start sleeping together again. Cookie's been back for what, two months? Anika thought they'd have slept together a few weeks back but hate runs deep. Well, at least it does for Cookie. Even though she knew it would happen eventually, it doesn't stop the ache that she feels spreading through her chest. Lucious has cheated on Anika during the entirety of their 3, almost 4 year relationship. She stopped allowing him to break her heart around year two. She's never known a relationship that didn't involve heartache and pain to some degree and she truly loves Lucious so she resigns herself to a life of sharing her man. Anika is smart; she knows how to take care of herself financially sans a man, or woman for that matter, but she hates being alone.

According to her mother, she'll never find someone who loves her as much as Lucious. Lucious, the man who personally went to her physician father and debutante mother to ask for her hand in marriage, charmed her parents from day one, even with the cheating. " _If he continues to cheat on you, there must be something you're doing wrong. Stay with him until you can figure out how to keep him home,"_ her mother said the first time Anika went home crying about Lucious. Anika's father had a revolving door of mistresses whom her mother turned a blind eye to. _"He comes home to me. As long as he doesn't bring home some disease and he comes home to_ me, _that's all that matters. He can have his women."_ Anika used to think of her mother as weak but now history is repeating itself, only she isn't married.

Anika has resigned herself to a life of sharing her man but her parents' marriage hadn't prepared her for Cookie. Lucious has cheated on Anika with supermodels, socialites, and the occasional groupie but Cookie fits none of those labels. Cookie is a former drug dealing ex-convict. Yes, she's the mother of his children but he just asked Anika to marry him by getting Anthony Hamilton to perform in their home. Anthony _fucking_ Hamilton. He had the unmitigated gall to ask her parents for her hand in marriage before sleeping with Cookie.

At the present, she's furious, at him and her. Anika doesn't know who she hates more at the moment. The man who promised her that he'd take care of her for the rest of her life? Or the woman who waltzed in and decided to destroy Anika's life just because she could? It doesn't matter that he's cheated on her multiple times in the past and he probably would've cheated on her during their marriage. It matters that it's _Cookie_. It matters that ever since Cookie walked into the home she shared with Lucious and Anika watched as Cookie gave her body a once over not once, but _twice_...the older woman has been on her mind non-stop. Anika is no stranger to sharing her bed with women. Years at boarding school and consistent female friends with benefits during her undergraduate years made her an expert in making love to a woman so she knows when a woman is checking her out, sizing her up. Cookie sized her up that day and Anika knew it.

But presently, Anika is so full of rage that she doesn't connect the dots and doesn't realize that she's jealous. Jealous that Lucious touched Cookie. Jealous that he fucked her. She all consumed with the thoughts of their combined betrayal that she doesn't notice that most of the room has emptied and Lucious is kneeling before her. It's not until he places both of his hands on her thighs in an effort to gain her attention that she snaps out of her rage. She hastily stands up which causes Lucious to lose his balance for a brief moment.

"Don't touch me!" she screams preparing to storm off before he catches her arm.

"Anika, baby, it was just onc-" he begins before she tears her arm from his grip. "NO! No! It's never _just once_. I'm so _tired_ of this...I don't even know what to call this anymore, Lucious. I'm done," she screams as she continues to walk away from the man she was going to marry. He doesn't try to stop her as she continues to make her way out of the building. She's jamming the down butting waiting for the elevator doors to open when Hakeem slinks up beside her.

"They ain't shit, both of them. He don't care about nobody but himself and she just cares about him," Hakeem says, his voice filled with disdain for his parents. She looks at him briefly before turning back towards the doors and jams the button again. "Jamming the button ain't gon' do nothing," Hakeem mentions as she takes her frustration out on the slow elevator.

Deciding that she's waited long enough, Anika heads towards the stairs and rushes down them trying not to trip over her own two feet. She makes her way over to her car and presses the unlock button but it seems that all buttons just don't want to work for her. Anika cries out in frustration as she kicks at her tires, Louboutins be damned. She feels Hakeem slink up beside her as he takes the keys out of her hand and unlocks the door for her. Anika is breathing hard as she steals a peek at Hakeem and sees the hurt on his face. Taking her keys from the young Lyon, Anika opens the driver's side door and gets in. Hakeem, ever quick on his feet, is already on the other side and sitting down on the passenger side when she's closing her door.

"What do you think you're doing?" Anika asks as she puts her key into the ignition not yet starting the vehicle.

"You wanna hurt them like they hurt you, don't you?" is all he says giving Anika the driving force to start the engine with him still in the car and start driving towards her apartment.

They don't speak and Anika is barely opening the door before Hakeem pushes her inside and against the wall, kissing at her neck before sinking down to his knees to pull down her panties. He nibbles and sucks for a bit before standing up again and wrapping her legs around her waist and sliding in with ease. Anika imagines Cookie fucking Lucious and it brings her orgasm quicker than she thought but Hakeem is still going strong. He lifts her off the wall before lying her down on the living room floor and plowing into her with abandon. She comes twice more before Hakeem is finally done and spills his seed inside of her. She belatedly thinks remembers that he didn't wear a condom and vows to pick up the morning after pill the following day.

"This doesn't mean anything," she says as he gets up and starts pulling up his pants.

"Whatever," he replies effectively dismissing her.

"I mean it, Hakeem. You mention a word of this to anyone and they won't be able to find your body, much less identify it," she spits with a venom that he hasn't heard before.

Hakeem stares at Anika for a long moment before shaking his head slightly and heading for the door. "Alright, I got it," he states as he bounds out of the door.

Anika locks the door behind him and heads towards her bedroom suite. She makes her way to her bathroom and turns on the shower and lets the steam fog up the room. The shower is scalding but she let's the water wash away the memory of Hakeem's hands on her body. Her mind drifts back to Lucious and Cookie and before she knows it, she's crying on the tile floor of her shower until the hot water has long turned cold.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Raise your hands if the timing of the first four chapters confused you. Oh, just me? Ok. I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with this story and I'm debating inserting time frames into the story if only to keep myself straight.**

 **-ED**

Ever since Lucious announced his engagement to Anika, Cookie has been putting her time and energy into Jamal. She tried to talk to Hakeem but he seemed to be avoiding her even more. She wanted to talk to her youngest about his attitude and how that shit needed to change but Jamal's record seemed to need more time and effort than she had anticipated. Her boy had talent that was for sure, however he needed to hone his sound. His father wasn't the only one with an ear for music. The record with Hakeem were nice enough but they weren't _Jamal_. If Jamal really wanted to be his father's successor, he would need to find his niche and bury himself deep into it. Cookie is so deep into her work she doesn't acknowledge that someone has entered her office until they're sitting right in front of her. She looks up with a scowl on her face which turns to a look of disgust before she focuses on her work.

"Get out, Lucious."

"Aww, come on, Cook. Don't be like that." Lucious has picked up a paperweight off of her desk and is throwing it back and forth between his hands when Cookie snatches it out of his hand and slams it down on her desk.

"I said, get out."

"Cookie, look, things weren't supposed to go down like that and-" he starts but Cookie is quick to cut him off.

"Like what? You hadn't known all along that you were going to marry Boo Boo Kitty? Where is your little kitty cat, anyway? I haven't seen her around. Thought she'd be quick to throw that ring in my face," she says as she puts down her pen. It's obvious Lucious isn't leaving her office any time soon and she can't focus until he's gone.

There's a look in Lucious' face that she can't place. "She left for a few days."

That surprises Cookie. She thought Anika'd be bursting into her office the very next day after she'd shown her literal ass ready to fight for her man. She hadn't seen her around the office but she didn't think Anika would actually leave Lucious.

"Huh. I thought she'd square up and I'd have to beat her little debutante ass but I guess she got tired of your shit, too. Where'd she go?"

"I don't know. Just said that she'd be back when she's back. But I'm not here to talk about Anika, Cookie."

"Then what else is there to say, Lucious? You played me. You asked that bitch to marry you. But best believe that it won't happen again. You're not gonna make a fool of me. Not again. So why don't you worry about your little fiancé and I'll worry about Cookie."

She watches as Lucious gets up from the chair and makes his way around to the other side of her desk and perches himself against it. "C'mon, Cook," he says, holding her chin gently, "You know it's always going to be Lucious and Cookie."

Cookie steels herself against his touch before moving her chin from his grip and her face away from his reach. "No. There's Lucious and there's Cookie, but there'll never be a Lucious and Cookie. Now get the hell out of my office." She turned back to her work and doesn't bother to watch Lucious walk out of her office. She's finally on a roll and deep in the paperwork for Jamal's next video when she hears her door open again. "What the f-doesn't anybody knock anymore?" Cookie yells before throwing her pen down again. Jamal slips into the office and shuts the door behind him before making his way to his mother. "Sorry, ma. Look, I had to come tell you, something is up with Hakeem."

Cookie schools her son with a look before going back to her work. "Your brother is a grown ass man. Even if he doesn't act like it. He can handle himself." Cookie knows it isn't true but it doesn't stop the lie from coming from her mouth.

"That's just it, ma; he's not grown. Yeah, in the eyes of the law he's an adult, but he still acts like this little boy and throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way," Jamal states as he's perched upon his mother's desk. Cookie doesn't dispute Jamal's claims; she can't. Hakeem was barely two years old when Cookie went to prison and after 17 years...Hakeem has never known a mother, only the women Lucious slept with before he moved Anika in. Even then, the age gap between Anika and Hakeem was so small, in some twisted way, she was like the older sister he never had.

Cookie is brought back to the present by Jamal waving his hand in her face. She slaps it away before speaking again. "What do you expect me to do, Jamal? Hakeem isn't trying to listen to anything I have to say."

"I don't know, maybe don't beat him with a broom the next time you try to have a serious conversation with him."

"Get out!" Cookie screams, reaching for him across the desk. Jamal hurries out of her way with a laugh before she can lay hands on him. "Alright, alright! I'm sorry, ma! Stop!" he yells when Cookie's strikes finally meet their mark. Jamal waits for Cookie to settle behind her desk before he starts again. "For real though, somebody needs to talk to Hakeem. There's something up with him other than the trauma of seeing his mama's ass." Cookie doesn't get up from her desk this time, instead she throws the paperweight, hitting Jamal in the meaty part of his arm. "Come at me again and it won't be your arm," she says, watching him rub his arm.

"Somebody has to. You just got here a few months ago and you're already letting dad get into your head again. I know you don't like Anika but the other night was just cold," Jamal asserts. He actually liked Anika even though they were close to the same age and it would be weird thinking of Anika as his step-mother.

"I don't care about Boo Boo Kitty nor do I care about her feelings. She got what was coming to her," Cookie argues. Boo Boo Kitty took her place and that was enough for Cookie to wage war in her opinion.

"What has she done to you other than become engaged to dad? You can't blame her for getting into a relationship with him when you weren't here. She didn't have any loyalty to you...but dad didn't either, and you thought he should have," Jamal finishes. Cookie doesn't refute his statement. She can't because she knows Jamal is right, but that doesn't mean she's going to speak it. When it becomes clear that his mother is finished with their conversation, Jamal slips out of the office, leaving Cookie to her thoughts. She's still in deep thought when a knock at the door pulls her out of her reverie.

"Hi, Cookie, right? I'm Malcolm DeVeaux, the new Head of Security," Malcolm states, holding out his hand so he could shake Cookie's.

"Head of Security, huh? So that means if I need protecting, you're the man to call?" asks Cookie, her flirtatious nature slipping out easily.

"I guess so," Malcolm replies with a smile on his face. Cookie returns his smile before ducking her eyes down. "You know, I haven't had lunch today, would you mind joining me?" Malcolm asks. Cookie's head shoots up in surprise. Malcolm is still smiling at her, this time, waiting her her to reply. "Actually, I have a lot of work to do so I'm going to work through lunch," Cookie states, trying to let him down gently.

"Not a problem. I'll let you get back to work," Malcolm replies heading towards the door.

 _Fuck it. Lucious can have Boo Boo Kitty. I'm not waiting for him._

"Since I'm skipping lunch, I'm going to be starving by dinner," Cookie calls out before he can step over the threshold.

Malcolm turns back towards Cookie. "I like a woman with an appetite. 7?"

"It's a date," Cookie returns with a soft smile. Malcolm leaves her office and closes her door gently.

 _Finally_ , Cookie thinks as she gets back to work without disruption. She continues to work until there's another knock at her door. "7 o'clock on the dot. Are you ready to go, Ms. Lyon?"

"It's 7 already? Damn, I guess it is. Let me put this paperwork away and grab my coat," replies Cookie as she straightens up her desk. The time really did get away from her. By the time she's up from behind her desk, Malcolm has her coat and is holding it out for her to put on.

"Well aren't you the gentleman?"

"I'd like to think so," he states as he holds his arm out for Cookie to hold onto.

Malcolm takes Cookie to an Italian restaurant where he knows the owner and they get a secluded booth and the dinner is going well until the topic of past relationships come up. Malcolm talks about his ex-fiance, Melanie, and how they decided to split amicably once she realized that she didn't want to live the military lifestyle permanently. It goes downhill once the topic turns to Lucious and eventually Anika.

"Did you know her in another life or something?" Malcolm asks as he takes a sip of his beer.

"What?" Cookie asks, tangent interrupted.

"Anika. Did her family have something against yours? Some Romeo and Juliet type feud?"

"What? No, I don't know that girl," Cookie dismisses as she takes a bite of her lasagna.

"Really? Because it sounds like you've got some serious feelings regarding her. I'd think you'd be more upset with Lucious but you've spoken more about Anika than him, even though you don't even use her name."

For the second time that day, Cookie asserts, "I don't care about Boo Boo Kitty. I don't care about Lucious. He moved on, I can too."

Malcolm doesn't say anything but reaches across the table to cover Cookie's hand with his own. Cookie looks at him and gives him a small smile before going back to her food. She wonders if he can hear the doubt in her voice because she can feel it in her soul. She honestly doesn't know why she's so preoccupied with Anika but she's not going to waste her time trying to find out.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This story is turning out a lot longer than I intended for it to be. That's not a complaint because it's making it easier to draw out Cookie and Anika's relationship. Because you know nothing is ever easy with these two.**

 **-ED**

By the time Anika makes to push herself off of the tile floor of her shower, her skin is beyond wrinkled and she's slightly shivering. It's been a few hours since Hakeem has left her apartment and there's nary a text or phone call from Lucious. Hakeem has texted her, though, and he's made it clear that while he won't tell anyone about them sleeping together, he's up for round two. She throws her phone across the bed in disgust before sitting down on the edge of the bed. It's one of those moves where you contemplate what you're doing with your life.

Crawling back to Lucious isn't an option, she knows that much. It's times like these she's grateful she didn't sell her apartment when she first moved in with Lucious. Her mother always told her that women needed their own spaces just like men needed theirs. Whenever Lucious pissed her off she would go to her apartment. He never followed her because he knew she would always go back to him, and he was right. Anika always ran back to Lucious because she loved him and knew deep down that he loved her. But that was B.C., Before Cookie.

Anika needed to get out of New York City as quickly as possible. There was no way she could stand to stay in the same city as the ones who had crushed her heart. For a moment Anika didn't know where she could go until her eyes landed on a picture of her cousin Raquel, affectionately known as Rocky to those closest to her. First cousins courtesy of their mothers, Rocky and Anika were thick as thieves on the Island and during summer breaks while they were obtaining their undergraduate and graduate degrees. While Anika was at NYU, Rocky chose to attend Yale and eventually settled in New Haven permanently, teaching for New Haven Public Schools. Rocky never liked Lucious so Anika was sure her cousin wouldn't mind if she crashed with her for as few days.

Anika dialed her cousin's number and the phone rang for so long she thought her cousin wasn't going to answer. It was only...1:47 a.m. _Shit._ Anika was about to hang up when the other line answered with a tired, "Bitch. You had better have a good got damn reason to be calling my phone at this ungodly hour."

"Rocky…" Anika couldn't finish before the tears started falling again.

"Who I gotta fuck up? That sumbitch, Lucious?"

 _Leave it Rocky to wake up ready to fight._ But in the midst of her tears, Anika laughed. "Want some company? I need to get out of the city for a few days."

"I'm about to fight you for even asking. How soon can you get here?"

Anika looked at the clock again before responding. "I need to get a few things before I leave and the stores don't open until 9. And I probably shouldn't drive while I'm upset. I can be there around noon?"

"Ok, I'll call the school and let them know that I have a family emergency and won't be in for a few days," Rocky said, yawning into the phone.

"You don't need to do that, Rock. I really just need to get out of town. I can chill with that minion of Satan you call a pet while you're at work," said Anika as she finally put on pajamas. She'd throw some clothes in a duffel in the morning.

"Bitch you already woke me up, don't insult my baby, too." Rocky's 'baby' was a Korat cat named Tino who hated Anika almost as much as she hated it.

"Whatever, I'll call you when I'm on my way," Anika responded.

"Alright. Love you."

"Love you, too."

By the time Anika wakes up, packs, gets the morning after pill and gets on the road towards New Haven, it's 9:30 a.m. Lucious has called her once already leaving a voicemail, wondering where she was since she's usually home by now whenever she leaves him. She texts back that she's going out of town for a while. Lucious texts back quickly asking for a specific date that she'll be returning and Anika replies back with a smart 'I'll be back when I'm back.' He doesn't text her again after that and Anika struggles to ignore the pain in her chest as she merge onto the freeway.

She makes it to Rocky's condo a little before noon and promptly gets out of her car once it's parked. By the time she makes it up the steps Rocky already has the door open so Anika can drag her luggage into the home.

"Damn, how long were you planning on staying?" Rocky asks as she pulls the luggage from her cousin and greets her with a kiss on the cheek which Anika returns.

"I packed for a week but I'm not sure if I'm staying that long," Anika replies, looking for the spawn of Satan, also known as Tino.

Rocky returns from the guestroom where she deposited Anika's luggage and notices her looking around for Tino.

"He's in his kitty mansion plotting your demise," Rocky states pointing over at the corner where Tino's play area is located. Anika looks over and sure enough Tino is hiding out in one of the cubby holes staring right at her.

"If he scratches me, he dies," Anika deadpans.

"Not if he gets to you first," Rocky replies sitting on the couch. "Now, tell me, what did Lucious do now?"

Anika ends up spending 5 days in New Haven with Rocky. The night before she returns to New York, they are sitting on Rocky's patio drinking wine.

"You should go home, Nini," Rocky says, calling Anika by her childhood nickname. "You haven't been in a while."

Anika cringes at the thought of going home to stay with her parents. "Yeah, no. I'd rather spend time with Cookie in a locked room than to stay with my parents."

"No! _Home_ , home. The Islands! Lord knows you haven't seen Gran in ages. She'll probably curse you three ways from Sunday once she sees you, though."

It's been so long since Anika went back to Grand Cayman to see her grandmother and extended family, just about the entirety of her relationship with Lucious. Thinking of her grandmother warms her heart but she knows she needs to get back to New York about and deal with the shitstorm that is her relationship. She tries her hardest not to think about Cooke because if she does she'll start crying again.

"Maybe I'll go during the summer. I need to figure out what I'm going to do about Lucious."

Rocky rolls her eyes. "What is there to think about? Drop that nigga and find somebody new." Anika flashes back to her night with Hakeem and shakes her head. She hasn't told Rocky about sleeping with Hakeem and doesn't plan on it. "I can't even think about getting into a relationship right now, especially so soon after Lucious."

"The only person talking about a relationship here is you. I'm talking about getting that kitty attacked," states Rocky in her brusque fashion. Cookie is the next member of the Lyon family to flash through her mind, only this time, Cookie's head is between Anika'a thighs. Anika downs the rest of her wine and stands up from her chair.

"I need to get to bed. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning."

"You're the only woman I know that will get up at the ass-crack of dawn after a vacation just so you can crawl back to a nothing-ass nigga."

"Your judgement is becoming. Do you teach your students using that language?"

"Please, those administrators I work with wouldn't know what to do with me if I taught in AAVE. It'd make for good entertainment, though," Rocky replies with a laugh.

The following morning, Anika is back in her apartment by 7 am in order to get ready for work. She hasn't spoken to Lucious since she left and she isn't looking forward to the confrontation. She's avoiding the confrontation so much that she doesn't make it to the office until 11. Luck doesn't seem to be on her side, however, because the first person she sees when she walks into the Empire lobby is Lucious, only he isn't alone. Lucious spots Anika trying to sneak past him and reaches out a hand to stop her.

"Anika, baby. I want you to meet the new Head of Security, Malcolm DeVeaux." Lucious places a hand on the small of Anika's back as she moves to shake the hand of the handsome man in front of her.

"Ms. Calhoun, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you," Malcolm says as he flashes Anika a smile that has caused many a panty to drop. Anika can feel Lucious tense up next to her as the hand on her back turns into a grip around her waist.

"Likewise, Mr. DeVeaux. I trust you're going to keep our staff safe and our building secure?" Anika says giving Malcolm a smile of her own.

"I'll do my best, Ms. Calhoun."

Anika decides that she's had enough of Lucious' hand around her waist so she moves towards her intended destination, the elevators that will take her to her office.

"If you'll both excuse me, I have some work to catch up in. It was nice meeting you Mr. DeVeaux," Anika says as she walks away from the men. She can feel Lucious' eyes burning into her back as she presses the up button. True to form, the elevator is taking it's time making it to the first floor.

"These damn elevators…" Anika mumbles to herself as she presses the button again. There's a ding and the doors in front of her open to reveal none other than Cookie and her youngest having a conversation and seemingly not noticing that the elevator has stopped.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me," Anika says to herself, only to have her unintended audience hear and both mother and son turned towards the sound of her voice.

"I guess the kitty decided to return to her pen. Did you have a nice vacation?" Cookie asks with a saccharine smile on her face.

Anika decides to take the high road and not respond to Cookie. She makes eye contact with Hakeem if only to not seem suspicious and she's a little put off to find that he's already looking at her.

"Oh, so you're not going to answer me? That's rude, Boo Boo Kitty. I thought you were taught better than that. But I guess money can't buy class after all. Too bad, all that money wasted on a high-yella trick who can't even keep her man to herself," sneers Cookie.

Cookie couldn't have known that Anika was insecure about her skin tone and being, as Cookie put it, high-yella. She couldn't have known that her mother kept her out of the sun whenever Anika was in her sight so Anika wouldn't get 'too black.' She couldn't have known that the first boy that she dated refused to allow her to meet her parents because she wasn't light enough to pass for white. She couldn't have known that the first girl Anika fell for only wanted to be with her in secret because no one could know she was messing around with someone with a white daddy, nevermind that the Island was mostly multiracial. She couldn't have known that Anika had to learn how to fight at a young age because the darker hued girls in her grandmother's neighborhood would jump her because the boys wanted to talk to Anika instead of them. Cookie couldn't have known any of those things, but it didn't stop Anika from going to that place of insecurity and it damn sure didn't stop her from slapping Cookie so hard she left a hand print on her left cheek.

While Anika may have stunned Cookie briefly, she bounced back and served Anika a backhand that caused Anika to see stars. With a shrill scream, Anika charged at Cookie and threw punches before she was turned over and Cookie got in a few of her own. Before Anika got the chance to gain the upper hand again, Malcolm pulled Cookie off of Anika but not before Anika was able to get in a scratch to Cookie's neck. Anika lunged at Cookie again once she was able to get off of the ground but Lucious grabbed Anika around the waist and held her back.

"Let me go, Malcolm! Let me go so I can beat this bitch's ass for putting her hands on me!"

"Imma do more than put my hands on you, imma show you how we do it on G.C.I!" shouted Anika, a little bit of her accent slipping out. She was still struggling to get out of Lucious' grip.

"Please, bitch! I did 17 years, I will fuck you up like the no-nothing trick you are!"

" _FUCK YOU, COOKIE!"_ Anika screamed, silencing the audience who had gathered to watch the fight. Cookie went silent as she watched her opponent breathing heavily, blood running down her nose and chin, staining the blush colored dress Anika was wearing. Anika stared at Cookie as she struggled to get her breathing together. Cookie was missing an earring and had blood running down her neck which was starting to stain the cheetah print bra she was wearing. During the fight, Cookie's blouse had torn and one of Anika's heels had broken off.

Once Lucious was certain that Anika wouldn't try to attack Cookie again, he let her go. Malcolm, rightfully so, didn't have the same faith in Cookie and continued to hold her back. Anika picked up her purse and it's contents before taking off her remaining heel and grabbing the broken one and headed towards the door.

Lucious called out to her but didn't follow her, "baby, where are you going?"

Anika turns around and looks into the eyes of Lucious, Hakeem, Malcolm, and finally, Cookie.

She turns back around, "I'm going home."

And she walks out of the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: First things first, DatNookieThang, you're the real MVP. Seriously. I've been meaning to shout you out for being my only reviewer since I started this story in January. Your reviews are always thoughtful and I look forward to them! I'm writing this story because the BooBooCookie fics are lacking in this fandom (but the ones that have been written are fire and you need to check them out if you haven't already) and I believe Anika and Cookie deserve so much more than the writing they've been given and Lucious Lyon (because who** _ **really**_ **wants Lucious?). That being said, if you like what you're reading, if you have questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to share them! Future chapters have been outlined through chapter 16 and our girls are getting there, slowly but surely. Cookie and Anika are both intelligent, headstrong, beautiful women who deserve love and they'll receive it….eventually.**

 **-ED**

"Tilt your head back a little bit, I need to make sure I can get to the scratches on your neck so they don't get infected," Malcolm told Cookie as he guided her head to the side so he could get a better angle.

While Malcolm tended to her wounds from her fight with Anika, Cookie took the time to observe the man in front of her. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't waiting for Lucious to walk into her office unannounced to see how she was doing. But they'd been in her office since the fight and that was over 20 minutes ago. Cookie didn't know why she even wanted Lucious to be thinking about her anyway. She'd had a good time with Malcolm during their dinner and although things hadn't moved further between them, she enjoyed his company. He wasn't bad to look at, either. Cookie was so busy staring at Malcolm's features, concentrating on his full lips, smooth skin, and the way that his shirt fit across his chest that she hadn't noticed that he stopped moving.

"All patched up!" he stated with a clap, startling Cookie out of her reverie.

Cookie touched her fingers briefly to her neck where Malcolm had applied a bandage and then pressed her cheek where Anika's first slap had landed. When she winced, Malcolm pulled her hand away from her face and held it in his own.

"She got you pretty good," said Malcolm as he pushed her hair out of her face.

"She got a few licks in and if you hadn't pulled me off of her, you would've been scraping her up from the floor."

Malcolm chuckles to himself. "Have you always been a fighter?"

"I fight for what I love."

"So what was that fight downstairs about? Because it looks to me like you've got some serious issues with Anika and you've said that you don't have feelings for Lucious anymore."

Cookie removed her hand from his. "It's not about Lucious. Well, maybe a little bit. But mostly it's about me. My money built this company and I did 17 years for a man who divorced me and kept my sons away from me. So imagine my surprise when I finally come to claim what's mine and see another woman who is everything I'm not and has everything I want."

"I can't imagine what that feels like. But I can understand why you feel the way you feel." His statement causes Cookie to cut her eyes at him.

"Why are you so worried about all of this? You don't even know me."

Malcolm moves in closer to Cookie to where she can feel his breath against her lips. "No, I don't know you. But I want to get to know you. You're special, Cookie. And you deserve to be treated as such," he says, not quite closing the gap between their lips. Lucious still hasn't entered her office unannounced. Deciding to leave him where he is, Cookie closes the gap and kisses the second man she's ever kissed in her lifetime on the couch in her office housed in the company that her money built.

* * *

She's enjoying the time that she's been spending with Malcolm and it's almost enough to keep her thoughts off of Anika. Ever since she told Malcolm about the reason for her animosity towards Anika, she'd thought about the ways that she and Anika differed. Anika had a taut body whereas, Cookie's body had birthed 3 boys. Although her body had snapped back, she still wore the marks of motherhood. Anika's wrinkled-free face and education intimidated Cookie and though she'd never admit it, she was enthralled by Anika's beauty and her wit. If anyone had the wherewithal to go toe-to-toe with Cookie, it was Anika.

In the 2 weeks that Anika's been gone, Lucious has been more persistent in trying to get Cookie back. Although he'd mess around (and has messed around) behind Anika's back when she was in his immediate vicinity, it seems that now that she's out of sight, he's stepped up his intentions on getting Cookie's nookie.

He showed up to her apartment again unannounced right after she'd gotten in from her latest date with Malcolm. He respected her wishes to take things slowly between them but she hadn't shared with him that the only man she's slept with was Lucious and she was nervous about sleeping with another.

"What, Lucious?" Cookie said, annoyed. Since he didn't know boundaries, she only partially opened the door.

Lucious looked around at the empty hallway. "You're going to have all of these people in your business?"

"I don't know these people and I don't give a damn about them knowing my business," said Cookie as she moved to close the door.

"You care about your sons, though. You really want something leaking out about Jamal and Hakeem?"

Cookie sucked her teeth before opening the door wider.

"What is it?"

Lucious walked past Cookie and made himself comfortable on her couch. Again. Sensing the Deja Vu, Cookie chose to remain standing. He wasn't going to make his way under her again.

"Look, I don't know if you know this, but Jamal….baby he's gay. And Hakeem, he has a habit of sleeping around. Andre….well, Andre married a white woman, and you know what you always said: if she can't use your comb, don't bring her home. Cookie, he brought her home." Lucious was having a time telling Cookie things that she already knew, most of which she didn't have a problem with. But what bothered her the most was that he manipulated his way into her home again.

"You're a selfish, rat bastard, Lucious."

"Damn, tell me how you really feel, Cookie."

"You really don't care about anyone but yourself. You come here looking to sleep with me because Anika or one of the other hoes you probably have aren't answering your calls."

Lucious had the nerve to look hurt by her words but Cookie continued on.

"Why didn't you visit me Lucious? Andre didn't come and you didn't make him. Jamal came a few times but even he stopped showing up. I _never_ saw Hakeem. I had to watch my babies grow up on the television. You always said I was so beautiful. I was beautiful enough for you to use my money but I wasn't beautiful enough to visit. I wasn't beautiful enough for you to stay married to me," Cookie voice quivers. After crying so many tears while locked up, she vowed that she would never shed another tear for Lucious Lyon. Her heart betrayed her, however, because she found herself crying in front of him, the pain of 17 years pushing itself towards the surface like a volcano.

"You kept my babies from me. _How could you keep my babies from me!?"_

Stunned, Lucious made his way to Cookie but she didn't want to see him, didn't want to feel him, didn't want anything to do with him. She beat on his chest as he pulled her to his chest as the tears continued to pour out. "I'm sorry," Lucious would say while rubbing her back in hopes of soothing his ex-wife. Cookie wasn't hearing it. He wasn't sorry. If anything, he waiting for her to calm down so he could swoop under the pretense of making love to her. But Cookie refused to fall for him again. He'd shattered her heart and knew if given the opportunity, he'd only break the shards into smaller pieces. So once she gathered her bearings, she pushed him away for a final time.

"You need to leave," she said walking over to the door and opening it for him.

Lucious gathered the coat that he dropped on the couch and walked to the door. On his way out, he stopped and kissed Cookie on the cheek. She knew he would probably never stop trying to get with her but she knew she was done and that's what mattered most. When she closed the door on Lucious, she closed the door on their relationship. From now on, her priority was making Cookie happy. And first on the list: Malcolm.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Fun fact: this story was originally supposed to be a one-shot which turned into a two-shot, and well...here we are, 8 chapters later. Anika's back in GCI and away from the bane of her existence. But if Cookie is the bane of her existence, then why is she still on Anika's mind? Also, I wanted to make their falling for each other as realistic as possible. Hopefully I can make that transition from hate to love believable. And FYI, I have no idea how debutante balls work so let's pretend that you can travel to be one even if you can't in real life, okay?**

 **-ED**

When Anika landed at Owen Roberts International Airport, she traveled from the bustling capital of Grand Cayman, George Town, and made her way to Bodden Town where her grandmother resided. Gran, as she was affectionately called by her grandchildren, wasn't properly notified of Anika's impending arrival so when the "granddaughter she hadn't seen in upwards of 10 years decided to stumble upon her doorstep like some common vagrant" arrived, annoyed was an understatement. Anika decided not to remind her grandmother that she saw her after she completed her bachelor's degree and that was only 6 years ago because she wanted to be let into the house and out of the island heat. New York had spoiled her and she was practically melting. When her Gran had decided that Anika had suffered enough, she let her into the house. Anika hadn't had the chance to put her luggage down before Gran pulled her into a hug. Annoyed she might have been but her favorite (let the rest of the cousins tell it) had returned to her. Grateful to be in the arms of the woman she had missed so much, Anika let her luggage fall to the floor and basked in the safety that was her grandmother's arms.

Once grandmother and granddaughter finally separated, Gran instructed Anika to change and meet her in the kitchen. Changed, Anika made her way into the kitchen and found her grandmother preparing food. It was late in the afternoon so Anika assumed that the food was for her.

"Have you eaten?" Gran asked confirming Anika's suspicions.

"I ate a little something on the plane," responded Anika as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"There are some meat pies in the fridge. The rice and beans will be done in a few."

Anika opened the refrigerator and sure enough found some of her Gran's meat pies. She hadn't had any since the last time she was on the Island. Heating them up in the microwave, she watched her grandmother wash the beans. She'd ask her grandmother if she needed help but knew it was better to wait until tasks were delegated to you.

"What troubles you Nini? And don't lie to me. You wouldn't come all the way here without notifying anyone if you were alright."

Anika sighed and took a bite, swallowing, she replied, "My fiancé cheated on me."

"Ah, yes. Clarice told me that you were engaged. Or is she still going by Claire? You know how your mother is and trying to fit in with those white folk."

Anika hadn't been engaged long but she wasn't surprised to hear that her mother had already told her grandmother that Anika was engaged to Lucious. Although he repeatedly cheated on her, Lucious had wealth and could pass the brown paper bag test, and that's what mattered to Claire. It seemed as if her mother never forgave Anika's grandmother for marrying a Jamaican who would've failed the brown paper bag test ten times and subsequently inheriting his rich skin tone. Anika was closer to her grandmother's shade and her mother often tried to keep Anika inside to prevent her from tanning. She only relented when Gran was around and even then she kept a watchful eye.

When Claire was younger, she decided that in order to escape Bodden Town she needed to marry someone with wealth so she did well in school, immersed herself with the "right" crowds in University and married a man who was to become Dr. Steve Calhoun. Anika was raised in George Town and when she wasn't running back to Bodden Town to spend time with Rocky, she and her mother were going to Florida so she could participate in the high-class lifestyle that the Islands weren't able to provide at the time. Anika hated the balls but much to her dismay and her mother's delight, she became a debutante through and through.

"Yes, well, he cheated on me with his ex-wife. Who is also the mother of his children and an ex-con," sneered Anika.

At that, Gran turned around to face Anika. "That's it?"

Anika narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean _that's it_?"

"Your fiancé cheated on you. That's not enough to leave the country."

Gran had a point but Anika wasn't ready to explore the rest of her reasons for fleeing her fiancé, her job, and her home. Instead of facing her demons, Anika decided staying quiet was best.

"Fine. Don't tell me then," Gran stated, petulant. "You'll tell me eventually."

Anika longed to prove her grandmother wrong and visited extended family members she hadn't seen in years, answering probing questions (avoiding all that related to Empire or Lucious), running on the beach to offset the copious amounts of food that she ate, and crying at night. About 20 days into her unexpected vacation, Gran pulled her out of bed before the sun had risen and walked her down to the beach. As the sat waiting for the sun to rise like they'd do when Anika was a child, Gran spoke.

"You're as stubborn as ever, but you come by it honestly, I suppose."

Still quiet, Anika laid her head on Gran's shoulder. "I don't know what hurts more, knowing that he cheated on me knowing that he was going to propose, or knowing that she slept with him."

"The ex-wife?"

"Cookie."

Incredulously, Gran asked, "what kind of a name is Cookie? Don't sound like she's all that sweet."

"She isn't unless she cares about you. Mostly, she's incorrigible, infuriating, wears animal prints all of the time, a felon, wears weaves to her ass-" " _language"_ "sorry. She fights with me all of the time, usually verbally, but before I left we physically fought."

"Why were you two fighting?"

"She was goading me about sleeping with Lucious, about not being good enough despite my upbringing. She challenges me on every little thing and I was sick of it. So I hit her."

It's Gran's turn to be quiet as she absorbs the information that her granddaughter has given her.

"Why don't you know what hurts more?"

"What do you mean?" Anika asks, lifting her head slightly.

"You're engaged to Lucious and he cheated on you. I think it's safe to assume that he's cheated on you before." Anika let's her silence speak for her.

"But then, here comes this woman who you don't know from Adam. She sleeps with the man you love and pledged to marry and you don't seem all too concerned about him. You're hurt because he hurt you, but it's more so who he hurt you with. You're furious with this Cookie woman. Why?"

Anika doesn't know what to say, except she does but she doesnt want to. Becayse if she says it, her feelings become real and she can't feel this way about Cookie. She just can't. When she's silent for too long, Gran decides to fill in the gaps for her. "You love her. Or at the very least, have feelings for her. Strong feelings."

"I…I can't."

"Why you can't?" Gran's accent is strong with the question. "Cause she's a woman? Child, look around, everybody is sleeping with everybody."

"Mom and dad-"

"Oh, stop it. You are too grown to be worrying about who your mother and father approve of. I know you've had these problems in the past…"

Anika's head shoots up at the claim and Gran's eyes are soft. "I know you liked that gal when you were younger and I know she broke your heart. You've allowed plenty of people to break your heart because you're scared of going for what you want. If that's a woman, so be it. If it's a man, just as well. Listen, baby, your parents chose to stay together because it's easier for them to live in a facade than to face that their marriage has ended. Your mother stays for the status that your father brings her. She stays because it's easier to let your father stray than to admit that there is no love in her marriage."

By now, Anika is crying and Gran has wrapped her arms around her. "Love isn't always easy to decipher, Nini. Sometimes you hate each other. Sometimes you say hateful things that cut each other to the core. But it's always faithful. A person that loves you will see you, even the parts you try so hard to hide. They'll challenge you, but they'll understand you. And most importantly, they make you better." Gran wipes Anika's tears as they begin to subside. "Now I don't know if this Cookie gal does all of this for you. Hell, she may just challenge you. But you feel some type of way snot her and you owe it to yourself to find out what those feelings mean. Don't let the fear of your parent's relationship keep you from receiving love. Tell her how you feel; stop hittin' on each other like you're children."

Together Anika and Gran watch the sunrise as Anika ponders on her Gran's words. She can't imagine loving Cookie. But that doesn't stop her from falling in love with her.

A week later Anika finds herself back at Empire sure of two things: 1) she's breaking up with Lucious; 2) she's in love with Cookie. She thinks God is playing her because she hasn't been in the building 2 minutes and she already sees Cookie.

She doesn't know what to say to her since Gran helped her realize that she's falling in love with Cookie but luckily, or unluckily enough for her, Cookie makes the decision for her.

"Welcome back, Boo Boo Kitty. You know, you're the only bitch I know that runs home to an island with their tail between their legs. Looks like you got a tan, though. Ain't so yellow now, huh?"

 _Sorry, Gran._

Anika turns to Cookie and says the only words she can think in that moment:

"Go to hell, Cookie."

And with that she heads towards the stairs. She doesn't need the drama of the elevator.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Cookie and Malcolm….Malcolm and Cookie. Nothing against Derek Luke but I wasn't really a Malcolm fan. However, since Anika is obviously not a choice on the show, I wouldn't have been opposed to long-term Malcolm/Cookie. Too bad it's never going to happen. Oh, well. Also, wtf, Empire? Anika's a Lyon now...but married the wrong one, in my obvious opinion. Ugh.**

 **ED**

Malcolm trailed his hands down to the small of Cookie's back as he kissed her. They were leaning against his front door after another one of their dates. They'd decided to have a night in watching movies. Malcolm had bought The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday as Cookie hadn't been able to see either film in theaters. Once both movies had been finished Cookie concluded that she liked both films although the character Quentin looked a bit too much like Lucious and he worked her nerves.

Cookie felt herself getting hot as she rubbed her hands over his abs and chest. Pulling away, she turned her head so she could gather her bearings but that only served to give Malcolm more access to her neck. Feeling herself lose control, Cookie pulled away again but before Malcolm could claim her lips again she pushed him away.

"Hey, hey, Malcolm. Slow down, now. You gotta give a girl a little break. Shit," Cookie stated trying to get her breathing under control.

"You sure about that?" Malcolm asked as he continued to hold Cookie but gave her the space she needed.

Cookie looked him up and down. "No, but I need to get going." Cookie bent down to pick up her purse that had been dropped during their impromptu make out session.

Malcolm placed his hand on the door knob to let Cookie out but before he did he asked her, "What are you doing this weekend?"

Cookie thought for a moment, "No plans right now, what's up?"

"A buddy of mine has a cabin up in Hunter and he owes me a favor. How about we take a trip, see the mountains….or not?"

"You trying to get Cookie's nookie?"

"I want to spend time with you away from Empire and while we're there we can let whatever happens...happen." Malcolm had his suspicions regarding why he and Cookie hadn't had sex yet but he was more than willing to wait until she was ready. He'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't want to make love to her, though.

"I...I don't know, Malcolm."

Malcolm tried not to let the disappointment show on his face but he knew he'd failed some when he saw her face change.

"Seriously, Cook," he stated, not seeing the cringe on her face when he called her Cook (Lucious always shortened her name and she hated it), "It's fine, I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you or making you do anything you aren't ready for."

Malcolm was so sweet to her and so patient. She felt like a teenage girl instead of the grown ass woman she was.

"You know what? Let's go," she said.

Malcolm looked skeptical, "You sure? We don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Malcolm, I'm sure," she said with finality. "Now what time are you picking me up?"

Malcolm smiled and kissed her again.

* * *

By the time they made it to Hunter Mountain, the sun had begun to set and there was a slight chill in the air. Cookie stretched her legs and made her way inside of the cabin after Malcolm had opened the door for her. They'd had dinner and were sitting in front of the fire enjoying each other's company when Malcolm leaned over to kiss Cookie. She returned his kiss before placing her hand on his chest to halt him.

"I've never...been...with another man...other than Lucious." If Malcolm had caught on to the specifics of her statement, he hadn't let on. Instead, he let her take the lead. Cookie pulled at his shirt so she could see some of his chest and abs, "ooh, you work out," she breathed before crawling over to him and kissing him. She allows him to unzip her shirt as she leans her head to give him more access to her neck. He removes her shirt before laying her down on the rug and removing her pants, one leg at a time. Instead of teasing her, he starts pleasuring her with his mouth and fingers making sure that she's prepared for him. Cookie guesses that he's big from the confidence that he carries but when she actually eyes his girth, her eyes widen for a second. He lines himself up with her and kisses her as he slides in. She breaks the kiss with a hiss and buries her face in his neck as he waits for her body to adjust to him. She refuses to think of Lucious in this moment and focuses on Malcolm as the discomfort turns to pleasure. He moves slowly, making sure that she's adjusted to him but Cookie was never one to wait for an orgasm. Before he can think twice, Malcolm is on his back and Cookie is riding him. She's still going the pace he was but she grounds her hips into his and watches as his head falls back. She feels her orgasm building and Malcolm feels it too as he reaches up to rub her clit. Throwing her head back, she screams as her orgasm takes over her. Breathing heavy and laying her body on top of his, Cookie struggles to gather her breathing.

"Damn. That dick right there….oh, my God!" Cookie is still breathing heavily as she feels Malcolm's laughter reverberate from under her. "Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet," he assures her, getting hard again. "Alright, Mr. "Head of Security," show me what you got." And her shows her, on every surface in the cabin except for the bed, surprisingly.

* * *

When they return to Empire, they're as professional as ever, but there's an energy between them that scares Cookie somewhat because the only person she's felt this way about is Lucious. The way she feels about Malcolm is almost enough for her to let whatever animosity she has for Anika go because she knows that she's not going to go there with Lucious again, but sparring with Anika has become second habit to her and if she's honest with herself, she enjoys the game. Anika may be younger than her and may have her job and she'll never admit it if asked, but she doesn't necessarily hate the debutante anymore. She still doesn't like the fake-ass Lena Horne, but she's business savvy and Cookie could respect that, especially since it's her company that's benefitting from the savvy. Add in Anika breaking off the engagement with Lucious despite his pleas that he and Cookie were done and the hate decreased. Anika didn't have her ex-husband anymore, even if Cookie didn't want him.

So when Lucious calls them both into his office, Cookie isn't sure what to expect. He tells them both to have a seat and they eye each other before sitting in the seats across from him.

"Since we've gone public, Empire's talent has been thrust into the spotlight. Cookie, you've been working with Jamal for months and he hasn't released his record yet."

Cookie rolls her eyes, "I know this, Lucious. We're putting the finishing touches on the album it's almost done."

Lucious turns towards Anika, "Anika, we've hit a wall with the talent roster. Ever since that shit with Kidd Fo-Fo-"

"Which wasn't my fault!" Anika interrupts, cutting her eyes at Cookie.

"Bitch, don't look at me. Ain't no artist up in here gonna be disrespecting me in my own company," Cookie defended.

" _Our_ company," Lucious corrects her. Cookie rolls her eyes again in response. Anika continues "the talent has been scarce lately, I'll change up my sources and see if we can find some different sounds," Anika states.

"That's all fine and dandy but I want you to start training Cookie."

"Are you firing me?!" "What?!" Both women start yelling before Lucious yells at them to calm down.

"Lucious, I swear if you want me to train her just so you can fire me for breaking off the engagement then I swear to you-"

"Didn't your mama ever tell you not to swear?" Cookie interrupts her before she can make a threat.

Anika sneers at her, "I'd ask what your mama taught you but I can already tell it wasn't much, if anything at all."

Cookie is out of her seat and Anika rises out of hers but before they could come to blows again, Lucious is between them.

"Both of y'all sit the hell down!"

"You gon' stop yelling at me!" Cookie yells at him in response. Lucious waits until both women are seated before perching himself on the front of the desk just in case he needs to break them up.

"Now, as I was saying, Anika, I want you to train Cookie. She has an ear for talent and is generally a good judge of character when it comes to it."

"Ha!" laughed Cookie childishly. Anika ignored her and then waited for Lucious to explain the rest of his asinine idea.

"But she lacks knowledge of the formal process of A&R. You're the best rep we have at Empire and if anyone can teach her the business side of talent scouting, it's you." Anika turns towards Cookie and smiles. Cookie sucks her teeth and turns her head in response.

Anika smiles at Lucious before speaking again. "Cookie hates me, Lucious. So this," she points between the two of them "isn't going to work."

"Cookie doesn't hate you, Anika, do you Cookie?" he says looking over towards Cookie. Cookie lets out an exasperated sigh before facing Anika with that same saccharine smile, "no, Boo Boo Kitty, I don't hate you." Before Lucious could seal the deal between them working together Cookie spoke again. "I may wanna wipe the floor pearl-clutching ass, but I don't hate you."

Anika looked at Lucious, "Goodbye, Lucious," she said before getting up and heading towards the door. Lucious looks pointedly at Cookie who shrugs at him. "You're the one who wanted A&R Cookie. I'm giving you a chance and you're blowing it already."

Cookie throws her hands up before calling out to Anika, "wait!" Anika's halfway out of the door before she pauses.

"Look, I'm sorry Boo Boo Kitty. I meant it when I said I don't hate you."

Anika enters the room but doesn't close the door. "If we're going to work together, you're going to call me by my name. Not Boo Boo Kitty, Boo Boo, Kitty, fake-ass _anything_ , just my name. Which is?" Anika asks, waiting for a response.

Cookie stares at Anika and sees something in her eyes that she hadn't seen before. She's seen Anika's confidence shine through before, but this...this is something different, and she thinks she likes it. Anika squares her shoulders as she waits, like she knows Cookie is going to give her the response she wants. Cookie makes her wait 3 more minutes because she's petty but Anika still waits, sure that Cookie is going to give in, which she does.

"Anika."

Anika smiles, genuine this time. "I look forward to working with you, Cookie. Be at my office at 9 a.m. tomorrow," and she exits the office.

Slightly disarmed by the smile, Cookie turns back towards Lucious.

"Is that all you wanted?"

"Well, you could come over here and keep my lap warm. It seems to have gotten a bit chilly in here."

"Negro, please," Cookie states as she leaves his office and walks towards her own. When she gets there Malcolm is waiting for her. She walks over to him and gives him a kiss while he holds her.

"What did Lucious want?" Malcolm asks. He believes her when she says that she doesn't want Lucious anymore but that doesn't mean that he trusts his boss.

"He wants Anika and I to work together."

"Anika?"

"Yeah, he wants her to train me in A&R," she says shaking her head.

"And how do you feel about that?" he asked rubbing her shoulders.

Cookie shrugs, leaning into him, "I don't know. It's what I want but it's going to be weird working with her."

"And you called her Anika."

Cookie shrugs again and remembers Anika's smile "it's her name."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Plot points are shifting and it's frustrating but we're getting closer to Boo Boo Cookie so that's a plus. I find that it's harder to write Cookie than Anika, though. We don't have much background on Anika and I refuse to follow the show and make her crazy so it's easier to work with her. Thank you so much for your reviews! 10 chapters in and I don't know how many to go!**

 **-ED**

Anika would be foolish if she thought working with Cookie would be easy; on a good day they don't speak. On a bad day...well, to say that they almost came to blows again would have been an understatement. Cookie had disapproved of almost all of Anika's ideas of how to scout for talent and Anika was getting annoyed. Anika said something along the lines of Cookie not being able to find her way out of a paper bag much less be able to understand the intricacies of becoming a proper A&R and Cookie had insulted her ability to speak to anyone that didn't share her class level. They were yelling so loudly that Malcolm had come in and had to physically separate the two. Malcolm had gone to restrain Cookie and Anika noticed how he held her and how she responded to his touch. Prior to their fight, she hadn't given Malcolm any thought but it seemed that Cookie had moved on from Lucious to the Navy Seal. Anika ignored the lurch she felt in her stomach when she realized that Cookie was seeing Malcolm. Instead, she opted to act like the professional she was despite her desire to drop kick him in his pretty face.

"Thank you, Malcolm, but I think we're fine here," stated Anika as she fixed her hair and straightened out the non-existent wrinkles in her dress. Malcolm looked her way but still stood close to Cookie.

"You sure about that? You ladies were pretty loud a few minutes ago."

Anika gave him a tight-lipped smile. "We're fine. We had a misunderstanding but we've got to get back to work. Now, if you'll excuse us," Anika walked to the door and held it open for him. Anika could feel get jealousy spilling out and she tried to reel it in. It wasn't as if Cookie or Malcolm knew about the internal battle she was facing at the moment. Anika wanted to stake her claim but she didn't have any claim to stake. The fact that they were about fight not 10 minutes ago was a testament to that. And despite her feelings for Cookie she wasn't ready to make a fool of herself, again. She pretended not to see the lingering hand he placed in the small of Cookie's back before taking his leave of her office. Anika closed the door behind him and turned to find Cookie staring at her.

"Is there a problem?" Anika asked making her way back to her desk.

"What's with you?" Cookie asked as she sat back in the chair opposite of Anika's desk.

"I don't understand your question," feigned Anika.

"I mean, what's with you? You've been acting different. I know it's not Lucious so what is it?" she asks, crossing her legs. It takes everything in Anika not to look down at Cookie's legs and follow where they lead under her tight dress.

"Cookie, we're not friends. At the very least we're co-workers, so how about we stop the chit chat and get back to work?"

Cookie narrowed her eyes at Anika but she didn't falter. They continued to work through lunch with Anika walking Cookie through contracts and deal memos. Cookie had experience managing Jamal and had done some work with Tiana as well. She understood the management aspect and overseeing the recording process. She knew about marketing and promotion and eventually choosing a marketable single for release to radio. Cookie was a quick learner which Anika soon realized.

The next few weeks saw Anika and Cookie hitting up local clubs for talent scouting when Cookie wasn't busy with Jamal and Tiana. Over working lunches, Anika taught Cookie about getting on the good side of music journalists and scouring social media for undiscovered talent. During one particular lunch Anika's phone rang non-stop. Her phone was on vibrate and on top of her desk but she usually ignored it when she was in the zone working. Cookie, however, wasn't used to the constant buzzing and called attention to it. "You're not gonna answer that? It's been ringing all day." Anika sighed as the phone stopped buzzing only to start again right after. She picked up the phone and saw that Rocky had been calling.

She answered the phone but before she could even say hello, Rocky was yelling "what the fuck is the point of having a cell phone if you aren't going to answer it?"

"Hello to you too, Rocky, what can I do for you."

"You can start by answering the phone. I've been calling you all day."

"I've been working. Shouldn't you be doing the same?"

"I took off. I'm on my way to the airport."

Anika straightened up. Rocky's parents still lived in Grand Cayman and she always planned her trips well in advance. She wasn't planning on going back until the summer and it was only April.

"What's wrong?" Anika asked.

"Gran isn't doing well and she's been hospitalized. Your mother hasn't called you?"

Anika made a face. She knew her mother was upset with her but she also knew how much Anika loved her grandmother.

"Please, she's not talking to me. She hasn't spoken to me since I told her I ended my engagement and broke up with Lucious." Cookie's head lifted at Lucious' name but she didn't make any other movements. Anika could tell that she was listening to her conversation, however, because she stopped typing on the iPad she held.

"She's still mad, huh? Hell, Aunt Claire stays mad. Did he get back with his ex-wife?" asked Rocky. Anika made it a point not to look at Cookie even though she was the topic of discussion.

"No...but that's another story for another time."

"Aww, shit. I need details!"

Anika laughed to herself, "Not now. What's going on with Gran?"

"Oh, shit! She's there now?"

"Yes, now answer my question. How is Gran?"

"Mom says she's stable. Her doctors think it's pneumonia and she's on steroids to help with the inflammation. She'll be in the hospital for a few days but the doctors said she should be fine."

Anika's heart settled down for a bit. "I'm going to get a ticket and come down there."

"No, things should be fine. I'm only going down to keep mom sane because Gran is going to get on her last. You stay there. I'll call you if you need to come down."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Nini. I'll call you as soon as I get an update."

"Alright. Call me as soon as you hear something. I'll be on the next flight out, just say the word."

"I will. Love you."

"Love you, too."

Anika ended the call and placed her head in her hands. She wanted to believe that her mother didn't know that Anika's grandmother was sick and that's why she didn't notify Anika but she knew that wasn't the case. Her mother was still mad that she'd chosen to maintain her self-respect and end her relationship with Lucious rather than staying for the money. Anika was so into her thoughts that she forgot Cookie was in the room. When Cookie spoke she startled Anika out of her thoughts.

"Is everything alright?"

Anika looked up at Cookie and then rubbed her head again. Straightening up, she moved to begin typing again, "Everything is fine, nothing for you to worry about."

"I never said I was worried," Cookie replied cooly and Anika cut her eyes at her but didn't respond.

"You were ready to hop on a flight so obviously things aren't alright."

Anika was getting annoyed. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to Cookie about her grandmother and she wasn't going to start today.

"One of my family members is ill."

"Your grandmother?" Cookie gathered.

"Yes." Anika wasn't going to give Cookie any more information than she needed to.

"I'm sorry, I hope she gets better soon," Cookie stated sincerely. "I'm sure if you needed to leave, Lucious wouldn't have a problem with it. Shoot, you've left a couple of times already."

Anika chose to ignore the latter comment and chose instead to address Cookie's previous sentiment.

"Thank you. She should be fine." Anika ended the conversation by resuming her typing. Cookie got the hint and continued looking at YouTube videos of an artist. She liked his sound and he reminded her of Jamal. She showed Anika a clip of him performing in a club in Atlanta and she agreed that the young man had talent. Cookie wanted to see the artist in person but Anika didn't think he had enough talent to warrant a trip to Atlanta. Cookie disagreed and they'd began arguing but at least they weren't physically fighting. Cookie ended up returning to her office and the conversation was tabled.

Anika shouldn't have been surprised when 2 days later Lucious informed her that she and Cookie would be taking a scouting trip to Atlanta the following month. Cookie had found some artists that she wanted to check out in person and Lucious thought it was a good idea if they both went and checked them out. Part of her was annoyed that Cookie had went over her head to Lucious to get her way but she was also excited at the thought of spending time with Cookie away from Empire, even if they would be on business. Anika had grown tired of seeing Cookie and Malcolm interact with each other and try to keep their relationship secret. She wasn't sure if Lucious had caught on but she suspected that he hadn't because both Cookie and Malcolm were still employed at Empire. But even with her excitement, part of her was nervous about spending an extended amount of time alone with Cookie. She'd done well with keeping her feelings about Cookie in check since they started working together but she didn't know if she would be able to keep up with the charade if Cookie was in her face 24/7. She hoped she would be able to because she didn't know what would happen if she slipped up.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Y'all. Go read Sweet Dreams by DatNookieThang if you haven't already. It's so sweet and has Boo Boo Cookie cuddles! Raise your hand if you're getting restless because Anika and Cookie haven't gotten together? *ED raises both hands* Sigh.**

 **-ED**

Cookie threw her head back in ecstasy as Malcolm made her cum again. Malcolm knew what he was doing and he kept thrusting until he knew she was spent. Discarding the used condom, he made goes way back to his bed so he could lay with her. As Cookie laid her head on Malcolm's chest, she realized that she hadn't been this happy with a man in almost 18 years. He rubbed her back as they both came down from their high. If Cookie had been weary about sleeping with Malcolm before, all apprehension she had flew out the window after the first time they had sex. And they'd had sex quite a few times since that first time although it was never at her apartment. Happy she may have been but she wasn't going to let just anyone in _her_ bed. It was bad enough she had Lucious on her couch. As she was laying on his chest, Cookie heard Malcolm take a breath before he spoke.

"I've been offered a job in DC, well, actually at the Pentagon in Arlington but still," he states. Cookie lifted her head when he stated that he had been offered a job and sat up fully when he mentioned the Pentagon.

"The Pentagon?"

Malcolm nods. "Come with me, Cook. I'm falling for you and I know you're falling for me too. I think we should see where this relationship takes us."

Cookie stares at him while trying to digest the information. "The Pentagon?" she asks again, trying to make sense of what he just told her.

"Come with me."

She's trying to find words but she's already shaking her head. "I can't, Malcolm."

Malcolm wants to ask why, he really does, but he suspects he already knows her reasons for staying. Cookie makes it easy for him, though, and indulges him.

"I'm in the process of taking back my share of the company that I helped built, I can't leave it, not when I'm finally getting the chance to do what I love."

Malcolm can understand that. Since she's been working with Anika in A&R, she's been working almost non-stop.

"I'm finally back with my boys and I can't leave them." The _again_ is implied and unspoken but they both hear it.

"And Lucious?" he asks.

Cookie gives him a look, "Please, don't nobody want Lucious. I've had him and I don't want him." The _anymore_ is also implied but Malcolm doesn't dare speak it.

"So, it's Anika then." It's a statement, not a question. Cookie is caught off guard because she honestly wasn't thinking of Anika but now that he's brought her up, she is. She's spent a lot of time with the debutante since she's been training with her and she's come to...tolerate isn't the word but she doesn't know how she feels about her, exactly. Cookie isn't blind; Anika is _Fine_ with a capital F and although they've had some sparks between them, she can't say that she's thought about the other woman in a romantic sense. Sexually, yes. But that didn't mean that she wanted to be in a relationship with her.

Malcolm takes her silence as an assent to his statement and continues, "I see the way she looks at you, especially when we're together. She wants you."

Cookie thinks he's nuts. Yes, they have some energy between them but from the moment they met, they hated each other. Their relationship has been emotionally charged from the jump. Cookie, admittedly, doesn't hate Anika anymore but she feels Malcolm is reaching.

"I don't have feelings for Anika."

Malcolm looks at her for a moment. "Are you sure? There's definitely something between the two of you. I've seen it firsthand. Before you started working with her, she was Boo Boo Kitty and everything under the sun but Anika. Now, you call her by her given name even in private. I haven't had to break up and fight between you two in a while."

"So we can't get along?"

"Of course you can, but it's Anika. You can't tell me that you haven't seen the way she looks at you." But Cookie has seen the looks, some of them at least. Mostly the ones directed towards Malcolm but since Anika wasn't giving up any information she let it go.

Cookie shakes her head, "Why are you trying to push me onto Anika. I'm telling you I don't have feelings for her."

A beat.

"You deserve to be happy, Cookie. If that can't be me, then let it be someone who looks at you like you hung the moon. You've had some bad blood between the two of you but if she could be the person to make you happy then you should go for it. Don't run from her and don't push her away."

Cookie gets up and starts gathering her clothes.

"You're crazy, Malcolm. I guess this means we're breaking up, huh?" Cookie puts on her bra and panties. "Good luck in DC, then."

Malcolm gets up from the bed and looks for a pair of pants and a t-shirt to put on. Cookie has purposely turned her back to him to put on her dress and he wraps his arms around her.

"I want you, Cookie. Believe me, I want you so bad it hurts." Cookie feels him pressed against her backside and she can feels how badly he wants her.

"But I want Empire and you want the Pentagon." Malcolm nods his head before laying his chin on her shoulder and pulls her closer to him.

"When do you leave?" she asks as she turns around in his arms.

"At the end of the month."

That's only a week and a half away and Cookie feels her eyes tear up. She doesn't want to let her tears fall in front of him so she puts on the rest of her clothes and shoes. He walks her down to the front of his building and hails her a cab. She can't talk to him for fear that she'll ask him not to leave. Instead, she kisses him one last time before letting him go. He may still have a week and a half left before he leaves but she won't see him. It'll only cause his leaving to hurt more.

By the time she's inside her apartment, she feels like the tears are going to break free but she still refuses to let them fall. Another man is leaving her and she doesn't want to focus on how much it hurts her. Although Malcolm asked her to go with him, he had to know that she wouldn't be able to leave what she'd worked so hard for, what she'd given up 17 years of her life for. She allows her tears to dry up and prepares to take a shower and get ready for work the next day.

Cookie is irritable and Anika picks up on it immediately and it irks her even more. Malcolm's word run through her mind everytime she's around Anika and she's becoming frustrated. Usually Anika is the one ignoring her but since Malcolm hasn't been around, she's become more vocal.

Cookie's been shuffling papers around loudly for the past 30 minutes and making unnecessary noise and Anika keeps looking at her with concern.

"Cookie!" Anika yells after Cookie has slammed the stapler down on Anika's desk for the third time.

"What?" Cookie returns, agitated.

"What is wrong with you?"

"None of your business."

"It's my business when you're about to break my stapler," Anika says as she move it from Cookie's reach.

Cookie rolled her eyes and goes to grab the other stapler that was on her bookshelf.

"If you need to talk-" Anika starts but Cookie cuts her off.

"We aren't friends. Isn't that what you told me? Co-workers at best, right? So forgive me if I don't want to talk about my feelings with you."

A look of hurt flashes across Anika's face and Cookie feels something clench within her. She feels bad but she's just giving Anika what she gave her. But that doesn't mean she likes making her feel bad. At least not anymore. Anika doesn't ask her about how she's feeling for the rest of the day and it isn't until Malcolm has finally left the city that Cookie feels some of the agitation within her dwindle. By then Anika has stopped trying to talk to her completely and Cookie is trying to figure out when Anika freezing her out started bothering her. Unless it concerns scouting Anika communicates with her solely via email and even her emails are curt.

When she's alone she thinks about what Malcolm said before he left. " _Let it be someone who looks at you like you hung the moon. Don't run from her and don't push her away."_

But Cookie's been hurt so much that she doesn't want to give anyone else the opportunity to hurt her. And she doesn't know why, but Anika, she feels, may have the power to hurt her the most.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Who's ready for some Boo Boo Cookie? Now, keep in mind, Cookie and Anika are endgame, but nothing worth having comes easy. Also, I'm not sure how long this constant updating is going to last but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Just an FYI.**

 **-ED**

Anika was busy checking out hotels in the Atlanta area when there was a knock at her door.

"Come in," she said as she continued typing. She'd hoped that it was Cookie coming to extend an olive branch so they could end their silent treatment. Alas, it wasn't meant to be because when she looked up at the person who entered her office, she met eyes with the son of the woman she was in love with instead of the woman herself.

"Hakeem, what can I do for you?" Anika asked the young man.

"I just wanted to check in with you and see how you were doing," he replied as he sat in the seat opposite of her.

"I've been alright." It was far from the truth but he didn't need to know that.

"I hear you've been alright as well. Tiana's a nice girl." Anika hoped her statement didn't come off as jealous because she definitely didn't want to give him the wrong impression.

Hakeem looked cocky like he wanted her to know that he was now dating Tiana. Honestly, she couldn't care less about who he decided to date as long as it wasn't her. She was about to knock him down to size when Lucious walked into her office. Hakeem glared at his father but Lucious ignored his youngest, choosing instead to focus on his ex-fiance.

"Where are you with the Atlanta trip?" he asked without preamble.

"Hello, Lucious. I'm fine, thank you for asking."

He paused, "Anika, where are you with the Atlanta trip?"

Anika leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "Why don't you ask Cookie? She's the reason we're even going on this little trip."

"Cookie's out sick so I'm asking you."

Both Hakeem and Anika perked up at Cookie being sick.

"Is she alright?" Anika asked trying to keep her voice level. The entire time Cookie had been at Empire, she hadn't taken a sick day. If she stayed home that meant something was seriously bothering her. She even came to work while she was nursing a heartbreak so that made Anika even more worried.

"She said her head's been hurting but it wasn't anything serious. I don't even know why I'm telling you this. Where are you with-"

"I'm in the process of checking out hotels. Once I have one selected we'll be on the next flight out."

"That's what I like to hear," Lucious said with a smile. Anika didn't return it and he eventually left her office without speaking to his son.

"He still ain't shit," Hakeem stated once the door closed.

"Yeah, well that's not going to change anytime soon," Anika agreed.

The two were quiet before Hakeem broke the silence. "Look, I know you said last time was last time we would be together but I've been thinking about us, a lot, actually."

"Hakeem-"

"Naw, just hear me out. I know we were both hurting but I enjoyed that night."

Anika would never admit to him or anyone else his prowess in bed but he had a gift and she knew Hakeem was blowing Tiana's back out.

Anika unfolded her arms and placed them on her desk in front of her before clasping her hands together. "Hakeem, you're a nice guy, but there are so many reasons why what we did shouldn't have happened, cannot, and will never happen again."

"Is it cause I'm young?"

"It's because you were almost my step-son," Anika said with a laugh although nothing was funny about the situation. "We shouldn't have slept together, okay. We were both vulnerable but it shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry."

Hakeem nodded his head, "I got you." Anika knew he was upset but there was no way she could go there with him again. He finally left her office and Anika put her head down on her desk. She hoped she was able to get through to Hakeem and that he would be able to move on. This was the first time since they had slept together that he had approached her to talk about that night and she hoped that it would be the last.

Throughout the day since Lucious first announced that Cookie was sick, she picked up her cell phone to dial Cookie's number. She even got as far as pulling up her name but pressed the end button before the call could connect. She started and deleted text messages and eventually got so frustrated that she threw the phone over her desk. Luckily the phone landed on her plush rug. Finally deciding to put her Gran's words of wisdom to use, she left Empire and went to her favorite Jamaican restaurant to pick up some conch stew and stopped to get some chamomile tea for Cookie's headache.

Anika walked up to Cookie's apartment and raised her hand to knock on the door and hesitated.

 _What am I doing?_

Before she could run away she heard her Gran's voice _"Tell her how you feel; stop hittin' on each other like you're children."_

Anika knocked firmly on the door and waiting for Cookie to answer the door. When she finally did, she stood in the door blocking the entrance.

"What are you doing here?" Cookie asked her with a frown on her face. It wasn't quite the response Anika was looking for but at least she opened the door.

"Lucious said you weren't feeling well."

"Again, why are you here?"

Anika rolled her eyes and held up the bag of food and tea. The smell of the stew wafted from the bag to Cookie's nostrils. Narrowing her eyes at Anika, she opened the door wider so the other woman could enter the apartment.

"Your apartment is nice," Anika said, trying to make pleasantries. She had placed the food on the counter in Cookie's kitchen but was now standing awkwardly in the living room. Cookie was still suspicious as to why Anika was currently standing in her living room and hadn't offered her a place to sit down. Mostly because she and Lucious had had sex on the couch and she felt weird about Anika sitting there.

"It's conch stew," Anika blurted out effectively ending the awkward silence. "It's the closest I could find that compares to the stew back home."

Cookie nodded, "smells good."

"There's also tea for your headache."

Cookie scrunched up her nose. "Lucious can't keep shit to himself." Anika decided to avoided the topic of Lucious. "How are you feeling?"

"You're doing it again. We aren't friends, remember?"

This time it was Anika's turn to scrunch up her face. "I brought you food. Indulge me."

Cookie rolled her eyes and went to sit on the couch. She would have chosen the bar stool but she wanted to lean her head against the wall in hopes that it would help calm the pounding. She still hadn't invited Anika to sit down anywhere.

"I've had a headache all day and nothing I take is making it go away."

Anika sat her Céline bag down on the coffee table and sat down next to Cookie who tensed up in response. She reached up a hand towards her and Cookie backed away.

Anika let out an exasperated sigh, "I'm not going to kill you, Cookie. My grandmother used to rub our head and neck when we were younger and had splitting headaches. It's just massaging your temples, neck, and the base of your skull."

"That's sounds dangerous and I don't trust you," said Cookie, still now allowing Anika to touch her.

Anika felt the sting of her words. "Do you really think I'd hurt you?"

Cookie almost let the yes slip from her lips. Instead she moved her hand in a 'get on with it' motion and tried not to flinch when Anika reached towards her again. Anika told Cookie to turn around so she could start at the base of her neck and work her way up. Anika alternated between using hard and soft pressure and let her hands massage Cookie from her neck to the base of her skull and finally to her temples. Cookie was feeling the affects of the massage and let her head lag to the side, leaving her neck open and inviting.

Bringing her hands back down towards Cookie's neck, Anika let her hands slip down to her shoulders, then down her arms. Before she could stop herself, she placed a soft kiss on the area where Cookie's neck met her shoulder. Cookie froze as did Anika whose hands stilled on her arms. Before Cookie could think that she imagined the kiss Anika placed another kiss on Cookie's neck, then one behind her ear, and then finally one on her shoulder. Cookie turned around to face Anika and Anika wasn't able to read the look on her face. When Anika turned her hands fell to Cookie's waist. Not knowing if she should move them or keep them there, she chose not to move at all. She watched as Cookie looked her over before making eye contact again. Still unable to decipher the look she was given, Anika made to say something, _anything_ , but before she could Cookie placed her hands on Anika's face and brought Anika's lips to hers.

Anika couldn't believe that they were actually kissing but when she felt Cookie slip her tongue in her mouth all doubt went out of the window. Anika felt Cookie trying to remove her cardigan without breaking the kiss. She lifted herself and shrugged the sweater off all without removing her lips from the other woman's. Cookie pushed her down so she was lying on the couch and then moved to straddle her waist. Anika let herself explore Cookie's back under her shirt. Cookie grabbed Anika's hands and held her arms by her wrists above her head and she places a knee between Anika's legs. She feels Cookie latch on to her neck and is enjoying the pressure from her knee when she has a flash of Hakeem doing the same. She tries to shake the thought out of her mind but suddenly she's feeling his hands on her and it's starting to make her sick. She pushes at Cookie who backs up immediately. Thinking the other woman came to her senses, Cookie moves to get off of Anika but stills when Anika blurts out "IsleptwithHakeem!"

For a moment she thinks that Cookie didn't hear her but then she feels the grip that Cookie still has on her wrists tighten and she's certain that she's going to die on Cookie's couch and Cookie is going back to prison for killing her.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: When it rains it pours.**

 **-ED**

She had to have heard her wrong. There was no way in hell that Anika had slept with her youngest son. She refused to believe it. She'd already had her husband, part of her company and now her _son_? The more Cookie thought about Anika fucking her way into every aspect of her life the harder she squeezed.

"Cookie, you're hurting me," Anika struggled to get free. Her struggles only made Cookie squeeze tighter.

"Cookie! Cookie, LET GO!" Anika cried out as she bucked her body forward to throw the other woman off. Cookie finally let go of Anika's wrists and moved away from the younger woman. Anika sat up and rubbed her wrists which had red crescent marks courtesy of Cookie's nails.

"You fucked my son?" Cookie's voice is cold and Anika thinks that Cookie may try to really end her life.

"It's not like that, Cookie. We just…" Anika can't finish her sentence because she knows that nothing she can say can allow her to take back what she's done.

"You what? You decided you couldn't have his daddy so you were gonna fuck him?"

Anika snapped her head towards Cookie. "It wasn't like that. I didn't set out to sleep with Hakeem."

Cookie tilts her head to the side, "Then help me understand, Boo Boo Kitty." Cookie ignores the look of hurt on Anika's face when she reverts back to the nickname that she hates. "Help me understand how you slept with the man who was going to be your step-son. Help me understand how you've been in my face damn near everyday for a month and hadn't thought to tell me that you fucked. my. son," Cookie says hitting the wall with her fist, her headache coming back full force.

"When was I supposed to tell you, Cookie? When you were fucking Lucious while I was still with him? When you were tearing me down at every chance that you got? When you were trying to take my job? When you were fighting with me? Please, Cookie. Tell me when I was supposed to tell you that I had fucked up when you chose every waking moment to show me that you hated me? You hurt me and I hurt you." Cookie is staring at her with such anger but Anika can't stop now that she's on a roll.

"And I wanted to hurt you, Cookie. I wanted to cause you pain like you caused me pain. I mean, I get it. I was with your ex-husband and that made me enemy number one. But _he_ left you, not me. You took all of your anger and frustration at him out on me and I hadn't done anything to you but exist. You'd start fights with me for no fucking reason and you'd pick on me like we were children. But we aren't kids anymore, Cookie. And you need to look in the mirror and see that most of your problems you've brought on yourself."

Anika goes to pick up her cardigan from the floor and lifts her bag from the coffee table.

"I have feelings for you, Cookie. Accepting them is probably one of the most stupid things I've ever done but I can't help how I feel. You probably don't believe me and you probably don't care. But I had to tell you, not for you, but for me. Maybe if I put it all out in the open I'll be able to get over you." Anika struggles as a sob catches in her throat. "But I don't want that, Cookie. I want you."

Cookie watches Anika walk out of her apartment and tries to digest everything that's happened in the last 30 minutes.

It's like she's moving in a trance because one moment she's putting the food that Anika brought into the refrigerator and the next moment she's in front of Hakeem's apartment banging on his front door. Of course he's having a party and a random answers the door but his guests are smart enough to recognize that this isn't an ordinary pop up visit from their host's mother.

Cookie lays her bag down on Hakeem's couch and makes her way over to him. He's sitting by his bar and Cookie takes a seat directly across from him. She reaches behind the bar and grabs the first bottle she can find and pours herself and her son a shot. She takes hers and stares him down until he takes his. She pours both of them another, then another, then another until the pain of Anika's words start to lessen. She walks over and just makes it to the broom, slightly stumbling along the way, and grabbing it with a firm grip before turning back to her youngest.

"You slept with Anika." It's a clear statement and there's no room for confusion. In his drunken haze, Hakeem sees the gleam in his mother's eyes and he straightens up.

"Why you even care?"

Cookie takes careful steps towards Hakeem, broom in hand.

"She was going to be your stepmother and you slept with her?" There's a lilt in her voice and Hakeem steps back when she gets too close.

"She was until you slept with dad and killed her engagement."

Cookie switches the broom from and to hand. "Why'd you do it son?"

"I don't have to answer you. I don't have nothing to say to you."

Cookie laughs, "Oh, you gon' tell me. Or you gon' catch this broom up your ass." She hits the broom against the back of the couch and a loud WHACK fills the apartment.

Hakeem is scared because his mother looks like she will legitimately hurt him but he's becoming riled up with anger. "See, that's it right there. You want everything your way," Hakeem says shaking his head.

"You and dad are selfish. He don't give a damn about anybody but himself and you don't give a damn about anybody if it don't concern Lucious Lyon. You worried about Lucious and he's still trying to get with her," he states, referring to Anika. Cookie bristles at his words.

"He has hoes everywhere but you're all up on his dick thinking he's gonna want you back after he _divorced_ your ass while you were locked up."

Hakeem is gaining momentum with his digs at his mother as he sees that his words have hit their target. "After you showed your ass we wanted y'all to hurt like you hurt everybody else. So we fucked. And she has some bomb pussy-"

Hakeem was cut off by Cookie's backhand. He touched a hand to his eye then glared at his mother. "Why you even care, huh? What, you want her too? Or have you already had her? A hoe like Anika, she'll probably fuck her way through the Lyon family to get a ring. Maybe even try Jama-"

She hits him across the back with the broom and goes to hit him again when he tries to grab it from her. She wrestles it away from him and hits him again and again and again until she breathing hard and on the verge of tears. She throws the broom down, grabs her purse and walks out of his apartment. When she finally makes it home, she shuts her door and slides down against it. She feels the tears falling down her face and she tries to wipe them away but for every tear she dries, another falls and soon she's sobbing.

When Cookie was in prison she dreamed about what her life would be like once she was released. She'd fight for and win her family back, she'd get her share of Empire back, and Lucious would recognize the error of his ways and she'd take him back and they'd be a family again. Instead she has a child who won't call her mom, a child who hates her, and ex-husband who only wants her when it's convenient, an ex-boyfriend who she thinks she could've loved if they were in another life and...she doesn't know what to classify the woman who has shaken up her world from the moment she laid eyes on her.

She wanted to hate Anika for sleeping with Lucious and for sleeping with Hakeem. She wanted to hate both of them for sleeping with Anika. She wanted to hate all of them for hurting her so badly and she wanted to hate herself for causing them pain. She wanted to hate herself for falling for Anika and wanting to kiss and hold her before she confessed to sleeping with Hakeem. Cookie wanted a lot of things but at the moment, all she could do was cry.

She ended up taking the rest of the week off and would've taken the following week off but she ended up receiving an email from Anika stating that the scouting trip had been scheduled and the hotel had been secured. They'd be staying at the St. Regis in Buckhead in the aptly named Empire suite, separate rooms of course. It was currently Friday and they were scheduled to leave that following Thursday. She replies with a simple ok and tossed her phone on the bed. She hasn't seen nor spoken to Anika, Hakeem, or anyone else at Empire since that night. She keeps replaying their first kiss in her mind and it's so sweet that she finds herself touching her lips in remembrance. She wanted to feel Anika's lips on hers, wanted to feel her hands as they explore her body, wanted to...love her? But then she remembers the aftermath and that things that Hakeem said to her and _God, has she really been that selfish?_

From the moment she met Anika she viewed her as an obstacle between getting everything she ever wanted. But was Anika truly the obstacle? Or was she a casualty of the Lyon family Empire?

Come Thursday they end up flying to Atlanta together but neither speaks to the other. Cookie is glad to see that the marks her nails made when she grabbed Anika by her wrists have faded but she's filled with dread when she sees Anika rub her wrists out of habit. Fighting each other equally is one thing but hearing the pain in her voice as she screamed out "Cookie, LET GO!" is something she'd rather forget.

Their suites are across from each other and Anika's made an itinerary for the weekend. She has certain artists she wants to check out and the one Cookie likes is first on the list and is scheduled to perform later that evening. They'll ride to the clubs together but as far as the schedule is concerned, unless they're watching a performer, they don't have to communicate.

Cookie debates whether or not she should try to talk to Anika when they're entering their respective rooms but by the time she's gathered the courage to say something, Anika is already in her room and her door has closed with a resounding click.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Heads up, I'm not from Atlanta so everything I'm writing about the city is from the school of Google. I do not own the songs Pillowtalk or Demonstrate by Zayn Malik and JoJo, respectively. I'm not sure how this story became so angsty but I sure could use some fluff. Maybe next chapter? Hang in there, peeps.**

 **-ED**

By the time she got home Anika was shaking so badly she could barely get her key into the lock, much less turn the knob to get into her apartment. She let her belongings fall to the ground as walked through her bedroom to her en suite and rummaged through her medicine cabinet for some hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin for the nail marks that Cookie had put on her wrists. She hissed at the stinging sensation the hydrogen peroxide caused and she was wiping away the excess when she heard her cell phone ringing in the living room. She ran to get to the phone before the call ended and saw Rocky's face on the screen.

"Hello?" Anika answered, voice still shaky.

"Nini? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. What's going on, how is Gran doing?"

"Gran is fine, causing havoc as usual. What's wrong?"

Anika sniffs and looks down at her wrists with the angry red marks.

"You know I've been wanting to fuck Lucious up for some time now. Just give me the word and I'll fuck him up on sight." Rocky didn't like Lucious from the moment she laid eyes on him. She knew of his music and didn't think it was that good in her not-so-humble opinion but it was his lascivious nature that really turned her off.

"It's not Lucious," Anika replied without giving any other information. Anika hadn't told her about Hakeem so Rocky had only one other person come to mind.

"Oh, hell no. Is it his ex? Because I'll fuck her up, too."

Anika shakes her head even though Rocky can't see her. "I messed up, Rocky. I mean I _royally_ screwed things up and I don't know how to fix it."

"Tell me what happened, Anika."

And Anika does. She tells Rocky all of the sordid details from sleeping with Hakeem to realizing that she was in love with Cookie to what just happened. Rocky is quiet as Anika tells the story from start to finish. When Anika is done she waits for Rocky's input because she _always_ has a response but she's confused when the phone is silent. She thinks that maybe the call dropped in the midst of her monologue but when she pulls the phone back to look at the screen, she sees that the call is still connected.

"Rocky?"

"Anika...I don't even know what to say right now other than what the hell is your life?"

Anika lets out a wet laugh, "I know. Just saying it out loud makes it sound even more ridiculous. I mean, who falls in love with their ex-fiance's ex-wife?"

"You do, apparently."

"What am I going to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe you should stay single for a while. Maybe it's time to leave the Lyon family alone."

"What if I can't let her go?"

Rocky is usually one to be optimistic about matters of the heart but even this situation seems too entangled to unravel.

"Ultimately you're going to do what you're going to do. I think you should be smart about the situation, though. You _just_ ended your engagment-"

"It's been months!" Anika cuts in.

"Whatever. You were going to spend the rest of your life with Lucious. That's not something to take lightly. You also slept with the man's son and probably would've slept with his ex-wife if you hadn't gotten all honest."

"I _know_ , and I swear I'm not taking any of this lightly. None of this makes sense but she just makes me...I can't explain it."

"Hell naw, you can't. From what you've told me, the bitch has had a bone to pick with you since she got out. How does that translate to love, Nini?"

" _I don't fucking know, Rocky_ ," Anika exclaimed. "If I did, do you think I'd be in this predicament?"

"You? Yes. You always did like those pretty bitches who brought nothing but trouble. You have a type, girl."

Anika rolled her eyes but said nothing to dispel her cousin's truth.

"You still there?" Rocky asked when Anika had been quiet for too long.

"Yeah, I'm here. I want her so badly it hurts, Rock. But I don't know what I can do to make it right."

"Maybe there's nothing you can do, Nini. Let it rest for right now. Get some sleep and keep your distance for a while. Who knows, maybe she'll come to you."

Rocky's advice sounded wise and seemed like the most logical step to take in the soap opera that was her life.

"Okay. I'll do that. I can't do anything else as it is so I might as well sleep."

"Good. And while you're sleeping, try not to dream of Cookie."

"Yeah, right. We'll see how that works out. When are you heading back to New Haven?"

"I'm actually packing now. Mom seems to have everything under control and I'm starting to miss those little newts they call students."

"Should you ever be awarded Teacher of the Year, don't call the students newts."

"I make no promises," Rocky laughs.

"Give everyone my love and tell Gran that I'll call her tomorrow."

"Will do. Things will work out, Nini."

"I hope so. Love you,"

"Love you, too, lady lover."

"Shut up!"

Rocky lets out a loud laugh, "Bye!" and she hangs up before Anika can get another word in.

* * *

Anika isn't surprised when Cookie doesn't show up to work the next day but she is surprised to see Hakeem with a black eye and walking with a limp. He charges her in the hallway as she's walking from the studio to her office.

"You told her?" he yells for the world to hear.

Anika looks around before pulling him into an empty room. "Keep your voice down."

"Why would you tell her?" Hakeem asks, his voice still loud.

"Because she needed to know."

"Because you're doing her, too?"

Anika's head snaps back like she's been hit. "Honestly, Hakeem, it's none of your business who I sleep with. Whether that be your mother, your father, or someone else. Just know that it won't be you ever again."

Hakeem gets into her face and spits out his words with venom, "you ain't nothing but a ho. Your pussy was good but it ain't good enough to wife you. You'll never be a Lyon."

Not moving, Anika maintains eye contact with him, "You're nothing but a sad excuse of a man trapped in a boy's body. Call me out of my name or refer to my sex again and I'll ruin your life."

"You can't do shit," Hakeem says although he isn't so sure. His father may be rich now but Anika comes from old money due to her father's side of the family and it just may be enough to run Empire into the ground.

"Try me if you want to, Hakeem. I dare you."

Anika refuses to break her gaze with Hakeem and he eventually relents and walks away. All of the tension she was holding in her body fades away and she realizes that she's shaking. She tries to control her breathing but it isn't working. She sits down in a chair and tries to regain her composure. It takes several minutes but she eventually gains control and her breathing returns to normal.

* * *

She works on solidifying the itinerary for the Atlanta scouting trip and once the hotel is secure, she realizes that she needs to let Cookie know. She doesn't want to call her so she sends an e-mail. Anika half expects Cookie to ignore her but she receives a solitary 'ok' in response.

Soon enough they're on a plane and land in Atlanta. Anika knew better than to have them room together and ends up securing rooms right across from each other. She hasn't spoken to Cookie since they've boarded the plane and their itinerary is pretty self explanatory so she guesses the trip will be open and shut. The club where the artist Cookie wanted to see is first on the list so around 9 they both enter the car sent by the reserved service and head to Vinyl.

As they're sitting in the backseat, Anika is struggling to not focus on the dress that Cookie is wearing. The deep purple dress looks like it was painted on her and damn sure doesn't leave anything to Anika's imagination. The dress falls just below her knees standing up but it's so tight that every move she makes causes the dress to ride up her thighs as she sits. Anika's dress is similar in length but isn't as tight and is midnight black. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't wear the dress solely to get a reaction out of Cookie but so far she's coming up short as Cookie hasn't looked her way once.

When they get to the club, Cookie immediately orders a Manhattan while Anika places an order for a Negroni. They sip their drinks and wait for the young man on their list to take the stage. The other artists have talent but it's the female artist who performs before Cookie's pick that causes feelings to be stirred. The young white woman is small and unassuming but the guitar intro to her song suggests that her performance isn't going to be your ordinary love song. The song is sexuallly charged to the point that Anika feels herself getting warm although that could also be attributed to her cocktail.

 _This pressure all inside of me_

 _Is sexual anxiety_

Anika understands the pressure tge woman sings of as she feels it building inside of her as she sits next to Cookie. Out of the corner of her eye she watches as Cookie leans back against the bar and angles her body.

 _Baby, there's a lot of freaky shit_

 _Runnin' my mind that I can't say_

Anika _definitely_ understands as she struggles to watch the woman on the stage sing. She wasn't expecting this type of performance but she can't say that she minds. She can blow and Anika thinks about getting her manager's contact information after the show.

 _But I know I can demonstrate_

 _And I can let my body explain_

 _I know I can demonstrate_

 _So I'ma make it simple and plain_

 _You just need to come over_

She takes a long sip of her drink to cover up the cough that escapes her as she watches the woman whine slowly as she sings. Next to her, Cookie is nodding her head and moving along with the music. Anika grows parched as she sees Cookie move her body along to the sexy beat of the song.

 _(I can let my body explain)_

 _I can just demonstrate_

By the time the song is over, she's drained her drink and is poised to order another. Cookie doesn't appear to be as affected by the song as Anika was but she's clapping louder for the woman than Anika is. Cookie is still nursing her first drink when the artist that she wanted to see takes the stage. The melody to his song begins and Anika is entranced once more, however, this time she's not alone.

 _I'm seeing the pain, seeing the pleasure_

 _Nobody but you, 'body but me_

 _'Body but us, bodies together_

 _I love to hold you close, tonight and always_

 _I love to wake up next to you_

 _I love to hold you close, tonight and always_

 _I love to wake up next to you_

The lyrics to the first song made Cookie feel some type of way but this song was doing something to her that she couldn't explain. In her peripheral, she had watched Anika come undone at the other song but this one was on a different level.

 _So we'll piss off the neighbours_

 _In the place that feels the tears_

 _The place to lose your fears_

 _Yeah, reckless behavior_

 _A place that is so pure, so dirty and wrong_

 _In the bed all day, bed all day, bed all day_

 _Fucking in and fighting on_

 _It's our paradise and it's our war zone_

 _It's our paradise and it's our war zone_

They may not have been fucking but it seemed as if they were in a perpetual war zone and she wanted to change that. Cookie wanted to reach out and touch Anika. She wanted to pull Anika against her and dance with her body pressed against hers.

 _Pillow talk_

 _My enemy, my ally_

They'd been enemies for so long but did they have to remain that way? Where was it written that they had to be at each other's throats at all times? During her time away from Empire, Cookie had realized that she had caused the majority of the problems between the two of them and wouldn't blame Anika if she never spoke to her again. But fuck if she didn't want her Kitten.

 _It's our paradise and it's our war zone_

Each of the artists at the club that night perform a few more songs and let the crowd know where they can be found on social media. They're back in the car and on their way back to the hotel and the energy between them is charged but neither is saying a word. The quiet is deafening but neither woman is making the first move. When they get back to the floor their suites are on, they walk towards their respective suites but this time Anika hesitates. She turns around and finds that Cookie is still in front of her door with her back turned to her but she hasn't gone into her room yet. Maybe Cookie feels the same way she does? She watches as Cookie finally puts her key into her door and walk into her suite but before the door can completely close Anika slips in and lets the door close behind her.

"Cookie," she calls out as she watches Cookie place her clutch on the countertop in the kitchen. Startled, Cookie turns around, not expecting Anika to be in her suite.

"What are you doi-"

"Stop! Just stop," Anika interrupts with her hand up in a stop motion. Cookie opens her mouth to retort but Anika cuts her off again.

"You have no idea how _infuriating_ you are. You are self-centered, vicious, spiteful and cruel. You have hated me from the day you met me for no good reason and I'm _so_ tired of you hating me when all I want is for you to love me. Because even with all that you are, I've fallen in love with the side that you actively refuse to show me. You love fiercely, you're smart, you're loyal, you're so beautiful…" Cookie hasn't moved since Anika started her tirade and she isn't showing that she's been affected by Anika's words at all. From the moment Cookie started working at Empire and Anika realized just how deep she was in her feelings for the other woman, Anika had refused to let Cookie see her cry. Even when she'd poured her heart out the first time she hadn't let a tear fall. But tonight she couldn't hold it in anymore. What was the point? "I just...I just thought you should know how I feel. I won't bother you again." She turns her back to Cookie and makes to leave the suite.

"Anika…" Anika hadn't wanted to turn around and shook her head. She felt Cookie's hand envelope hers and pull it away from the door knob. She let Cookie turn her around but still held her head down. She felt Cookie lift her chin and met her eyes. She was surprised to find Cookie's eyes glassy with tears. Cookie brought her forehead to Anika's as she held the other woman's face in her hands. Anika felt the pads of Cookie's thumbs run along her cheeks wiping away rogue tears and closed her eyes. She felt Cookie's face get closer to hers before she fell short. They were so close that she could feel Cookie's breath mingle with hers.

Before closing the gap between them, Cookie spoke so softly Anika had to strain to hear her. But she'd heard it and her heart soared as she melted into the kiss with the woman she loved.

"I love you, too."

 **Another A/N because I feel the need to explain myself: Since I realized that I was taking Honestly in this direction, I went back and forth between having Cookie fall in love with Anika or just be in strong like. Cookie has been hurt a lot and I think it'd be difficult for her to recognize and actually admit to her feelings, especially towards someone like Anika. However, I also believe that love sneaks up on you when you least expect it and sometimes it happens with the person you wouldn't dream of falling in love with. But then that person appears and suddenly your world is turned upside down and your heart says, "Oh, there you are." But that's what's great about fanfiction. Rather than dragging it out (because I'm honestly getting tired of the will they/won't they madness even though I'm writing it), I think Cookie deserves to be happy and get her girl.**

 **TL;DR: I don't think it's unreasonable for Cookie to fall in love with Anika despite the shit she put her through although they've definitely got a long way to go.**

 **-ED**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'll let this chapter speak for itself.**

 **-ED**

When Cookie first realized that Anika was in her room she didn't know what to do. Part of her was confused because she hadn't heard the younger woman slip into her room but part of her was elated because Anika had taken a step that Cookie wasn't sure she would have been able to make. At first Cookie hadn't known what Anika's motives were when she first began speaking and telling Cookie all of the things she couldn't stand about her. But then Anika shared what she loved about her and Cookie was was so caught off guard that she hadn't responded. Anika took her silence to mean that Cookie didn't care about her admission was prepared to walk out of Cookie's life permanently before Cookie finally spoke up. The fear in her told her to keep her feelings guarded but seeing Anika so broken fueled Cookie's desire to finally admit to herself and to her that she loved Anika. Cookie may have not been able to pinpoint exactly when her feelings for Anika had transformed but she was sure that she didn't want to be the cause of Anika's tears any longer.

Cookie broke away from their kiss and took Anika by the hand. She guided her towards the bedroom and stood before her in front of the bed. Anika walked forward until she was directly in front of Cookie. Anika stole a kiss before walking her hands from Cookie's hips to her waist, around the sides of her breasts and to her back to where the zipper to her dress was located. Anika kissed her along her neck as she pulled the zipper down and began to peel the dress away from Cookie's form.

Anika took a step back to allow Cookie to step out of the dress and kick it to the side. Anika could tell beforehand that Cookie wasn't wearing a bra but she was surprised to see that Cookie wasn't wearing any underwear either. It made sense seeing as Anika didn't see a panty line whenever she caught a glimpse of Cookie's magnificent ass.

Anika palmed Cookie's left breast as she let her right hand make its way down Cookie's stomach and towards her wet center. Anika could smell Cookie's arousal but it didn't compare to the moisture she found as she let a finger slip between Cookie's folds. Anika looked Cookie in the eye as she brought the same finger up to her mouth for a taste. Cookie let out a whimper as she watched Anika suck her finger clean before capturing her lips in a kiss. Cookie was always intrigued when she tasted herself but the taste of Anika's kiss was intoxicating all on its own.

Anika pushed Cookie down onto the king bed and waited until Cookie scooted further towards the headboard before abandoning her dress and crawling up her body. Settling between her lover's legs, Anika began trailing kisses from Cookie's lips to her neck to her collarbone to her sternum. Cookie was surprised that Anika had taken charge but she was looking forward to what the debutante had in store for her. Cookie was usually the aggressor when it came to sex but Anika seemed like she had a point to prove, a point that Cookie would gladly to let her make. Cookie let out a moan when Anika latched onto her right breast and began teasing the nipple until it was standing at attention. She alternated between tongue and teeth before continuing her assault on Cookie's other breast.

Cookie was growing hotter as Anika let her hands roam Cookie's body. She seemed to want to commit every part of Cookie to memory as if she was scared she would never get the opportunity to touch her again. Anika left kisses along Cookie's torso and made a pit stop at her navel where she let her tongue play. Cookie's navel had always been ticklish and she let out a series of giggles before scratching Anika's scalp.

"You gon' play with my belly button all night?" Cookie asked with mirth in her eyes.

Anika smirked at Cookie before flicking a finger at her clit causing Cookie to jerk in response.

"Alright, Kitten, don't start nothing you don't plan to finish."

"I thought I told you not to call me that," Anika said as she settled in between Cookie's thighs.

"You said not to call you Kitty, not Kitten."

Anika nipped at Cookie's thigh before soothing the bite with her tongue.

"Semantics," she said biting Cookie on the opposite thigh and soothing it the same way.

"Awww, don't be like that Kitten, you know I- _ohhhhhh...FUCK!"_ Cookie exclaimed as Anika licked a line up her slit to her clit before sucking on her clit. Years at boarding school had made Anika a pro at eating pussy and she was determined to show Cookie that she needn't look any further for someone to satisfy her sexual needs. Anika had already captured Cookie's heart, she was determined to ensure that Cookie wouldn't even think of someone else.

Anika pistoned her tongue in and out of Cookie while massaging her thighs. She felt Cookie's walls clench and moved to push Cookie's thighs towards her torso before diving in again. Clutching Anika's hair in one fist and palming her breast with the other, Cookie came with a scream that Anika just knew would have law enforcement knocking on their door thinking a murder had been committed. Anika licked Cookie down from her orgasm and let the other woman's legs fall to the side. Anika was kissing Cookie's thighs as Cookie struggled to catch her breath.

" _Damn, Anika_. Did you take Pussy Eating 101?"

Anika laughed, "of course not, I just have a gift."

"Uh huh, right. Well, get ready because Cookie is going to show you how it's done."

Anika laughed again before turning Cookie over to her stomach. Anika got up on her knees in order to lift Cookie's lower body up so her ass was in the air. Cookie attempted to raise her upper body but Anika pressed her back down so her ass was swaying freely in the air.

"Anika, what kind of freaky shit are you into?"

Anika smiled and kissed both cheeks before slapping Cookie's ass and then slapping it again for good measure. She watched as Cookie shivered before she settled in between her legs. Anika slipped her index and middle fingers into Cookie before rubbing her clit with her thumb. Cookie grabbed bunches of the bed's duvet and bit it as Anika gained momentum. Anika was as poised as ever as she watched Cookie come undone beneath her. She added a third finger which pushed Cookie over the edge and caused her second orgasm of the night. Anika continued to rub Cookie's clit and coaxed out a third but less powerful orgasm.

Cookie's legs quivered as Anika pulled her fingers from inside of her and Anika licked each individual finger, not wasting a drop of Cookie's juices. Cookie's legs finally gave out and she dropped with a less than gracious plop on the bed. Anika crawled up on the side of Cookie and laid down next to her. She pushed Cookie's hair out of her face and watched as Cookie came back to the land of the living.

"Welcome back," Anika said as Cookie's eyes fluttered open. Cookie mumbled something incoherent and moved close to Anika until she was able to press her lips against hers. Anika and Cookie laid together as Anika traced patterns up and down Cookie's back, almost but not quite lulling her to sleep. Cookie lay on Anika's chest and listened to her heartbeat while playing with one of Anika's nipples, flicking it until it was rock hard. She pulled on it slightly causing Anika to whimper. Cookie attempted to play with Anika's breasts but between her drinks at the club, her orgasms, and Anika's hands rubbing her back, she was falling asleep.

She felt Anika kiss her on the forehead but before sleep completely claimed her, she promised Anika that she would double her efforts the following day. Anika nodded in assent, not quite listening to Cookie as she was falling asleep herself. The following morning, Anika was woken up by the best alarm clock man couldn't buy: Cookie Lyon's tongue. Before she could even wake up properly, Anika was cumming into Cookie's mouth. Undeterred, Cookie was relentless and saw Anika's 3 orgasms and raised her 3 more. By her final orgasm, Anika was so wore out she didn't know if she would recover. Her body shook so badly Cookie held her so she wouldn't flip herself off of the bed. When she finally calmed down, Anika could only shake her head in disbelief " _Fucking a, Cookie...where have you been all my life?"_

Cookie smiled before kissing her Kitten. Anika eventually fell back asleep and Cookie took the time to watch Anika while she slept. Anika was so attentive to Cookie the night before and Cookie felt like she had fallen in love with her all over again. Although they hadn't put a label on their relationship (although consummating their relationship took the previous one they had to a whole nother level), Cookie knew that she needed Anika to remain a permanent fixture in her life. She thought about Lucious and Hakeem which made her angry for a moment but as she looked down at the woman in her arms, she knew that anything Anika had with the Lyon men was dead and gone.

After Anika woke up again, they ordered room service and went over the itinerary for the second day. They made love again before heading out to the second club on their list. Saturday found them with a free morning and afternoon and the ladies chose to clear the air between them and get to know each other better. Anika shared her love for her grandmother and how Gran was currently sick but on the mend. Cookie asked about Anika's family, noting that the only thing she knew about them was that they had money and that she was biracial. Anika sighed and ate a bite of the paella that she had ordered. She spoke of her mother and father, both of whom didn't approve of any sexual relationships she had with women. She told Cookie about almost being sent to boarding school in Switzerland after her parents had caught her and another girl from her grandmother's neighborhood kissing in Anika's bedroom. Anika had begged and pleaded and promised that she would never see that girl again if she was allowed to stay. And she kept her promise, she hadn't seen that particular girl again, but that didn't stop her from becoming educated in the fine art of pleasing women. Anika spoke highly of her cousin Rocky and told Cookie that Rocky was the closest thing she had to a sibling. Cookie asked Anika if Rocky knew of their relationship and while she didn't know about the latest developments, Rocky knew that Anika had feelings for Cookie. Anika confirmed that she was fine with keeping their relationship under wraps for the time being until they could figure out how to break the news to the rest of their families. Cookie understood because she didn't know how in the hell she would tell her sons and Lucious that she was in love with Anika.

With hesitation, Cookie shared the story of the baby girl that she and Lucious had loved and lost too early before Andre was born. Cookie became choked up talking about the baby that they would have named Aisha and Anika walked over to where Cookie is sitting and lifts her so Cookie can sit on her lap. Anika holds Cookie as she cries for the baby girl she never talks about but is always on her mind. Once Cookie has recovered, Anika continues to hold her and shares stories of her mother trying to keep her out of the sun to prevent her from getting too dark. Cookie realizes that every time she called Anika yellow or talked about her color she struck a nerve and apologizes. Cookie feels Anika nod on her back and although it hasn't been stated, she knows that Anika has forgiven her although she doesn't know if she deserves it. The topic of Hakeem is too fresh and neither woman knows how to broach the subject so they don't. Lucious doesn't come up except about Aisha and neither woman cares enough to discuss him.

By the end of the weekend, Cookie feels that Anika still has the power to hurt her, perhaps even more now than before, but she's in a place where she's starting to trust, or rather, hope, that she won't. Cookie notices how often Anika kisses her simply because she can or how often she touches her in some way and she finds that she doesn't mind one bit.

Come Monday morning, they arrive at Empire separately, Anika before Cookie, in hopes of keeping their relationship quiet until they can figure out when they want to come out. Cookie sees Anika talking frantically to a security guard and when she gets closer, she hears the other woman demand to speak to Lucious.

"What's going on?" Cookie asks walking into the lobby before being stopped by a security guard.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I can't let you through."

"The fuck you mean you can't let me through? This is my company."

"Actually," Lucious' voice booms, "it's my company. And since it's my company, I get to say who walks through these doors, and baby, it ain't you."

"Lucious, what are you talking about?" Cookie asks as Anika demands to be let through to her office.

"I don't take too kindly to backstabbers so you're fired, both of you," Lucious says looking first at Cookie and then to Anika.

"What the fuck, Lucious?" Anika cries.

"You heard me, Anika. Y'all can dyke together all you want to, but it ain't gonna be under this roof," Lucious says before walking away. The entire lobby is silent as Lucious essentially outs both Cookie and Anika to Empire Entertainment.

Out of the corner of her eye, Cookie sees Hakeem glaring at her and Anika. Blind with rage, Cookie belatedly hears Anika yell, "Cookie, _no_!" as she charges at her son.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Y'all, I literally dreamed about a story plot between these two. I think this is getting out of hand.**

 **-ED**

Anika watched as Cookie was caught by the security guard before she could inflict further bodily harm on Hakeem. Anika was escorted while Cookie was forcibly removed from the Empire building. Grabbing Cookie by the upper arm before she could try to go back into the building, Anika led Cookie to her car and told her to get in. Cookie jerked her arm out of Anika's grasp before getting into the car with a scowl on her face. While Anika drives, Cookie is on her phone typing feverishly. Hakeem nor Lucious will answer her phone calls and it's only serving to make her angrier. Next to her, Anika grips the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles have turned white.

They make it to Anika's apartment and Anika lets Cookie inside before her before slamming the door shut. Cookie takes a moment to look around her girlfriend's(?) apartment. While they may have made declarations of love, they hadn't put a label on their relationship and Cookie wasn't necessarily in a hurry to do so at the moment. Cookie observed that Anika's apartment reflected her expensive taste. Even her curtains are designer and probably cost more than Cookie's whole outfit. While Cookie is looking around, Anika is pacing and talking to herself. Cookie stops her wandering and focuses on Anika. She's never seen her act this way; she's red in the face with anger and is pouring a glass of rum before taking it straight to the head.

"I told him not to fuck with me," Anika mumbles to herself.

Confused, Cookie asks, "Him who?"

Anika pours herself another glass and drinks it, "Hakeem. He confronted me after you beat him," Anika replies slamming the glass down on the counter.

"When did this happen and why didn't you tell me?"

Anika sighs, "It was before we went to Atlanta and I didn't think it was relevant."

"The hell? You didn't think it was relevant? The fuck you mean you didn't think it was relevant? What did he say?"

"Why does it matter, Cookie?"

"It matters because that's my son and I deserve to know what happened!"

"And what am I, Cookie? Obviously I'm not important; just the woman you said you loved, right?"

"You know that's not the same thing!"

"Like hell it isn't! Are you mad because we talked and you weren't around?"

"I'm mad because you keep doing stupid shit with my son!"

"Wow, Cookie, I guess Hakeem was right. You Lyons don't care about anyone but yourselves. You _really_ want to know what he told me?" Anika doesn't wait for Cookie to respond. "Your beloved son told me that although my pussy was good, it's not good enough to wife me up. Oh! He also told me that I'd never be a Lyon. So why would I tell you that we spoke, knowing that you didn't give a damn about me other than wanting to fuck me, which, congratulations! You've accomplished."

Cookie wants to be surprised that Hakeem told Anika all of those hateful things but she's not because he's said them to her. Or, at least he tried to before Cookie took his broom across his back. This whole thing with Anika is so new that marrying Anika hasn't even crossed her mind. Hell, she only admitted to herself and the other woman that she had feelings for her 2.5 seconds ago. But what Hakeem said, although out of a broken heart, was wrong and she'd see to it that he knew that. But first she had to handle Anika who was currently seething in front of her. Besides, Anika did have a point as much as Cookie hadn't wanted to admit it. Anika deserved better than what she had been given by the Lyon family.

"Anika, If I didn't have feelings for you that night, I wouldn't have kissed you and I didn't just want to fuck you. I mean, wait, that didn't come out right. No, I didn't feel for you then like I do now but you still should've told me! Maybe I could've done something before all this shit blew up in my face and I got pushed out of my own fucking company!"

Anika's face dropped. "All this _shit_? That's what this is, huh? _Shit_?"

"Anika- Look, that's not what I meant-"

"But it _is_ , Cookie. I get it, I mean, a month ago we we couldn't go a day without being at each other's throats or ignoring each other. Shutting me out or shutting me down is your default. I get that. And I don't know why I thought that after everything we talked about this weekend, something would change between us. Obviously, I was wrong."

Cookie could understand why Anika was so upset, really, she could. It was a poor choice of words but understanding didn't make the situation any better. She had been put out of the company that her money had built and she'd be damned if she didn't try to fight for her place within Empire. Since her release, her family and Empire had been her main priorities. But then there was Anika. She hadn't even been with Anika good before shit hit the fan. If it came down to Empire or Anika...she'd already made that decision with Malcolm…could she make it again? Would she?

Cookie closes her eyes. "Anika, that's not what I meant. Really. I walked into Empire today thinking that I was going to bring Empire some new artists and maybe get a quickie in between meetings. I didn't expect to be fired."

"And you think I did? Lucious is a petty, selfish bastard and Hakeem didn't get his way so he ran to tell daddy."

Cookie shakes her head trying to make sense of the situation, "I just need to go talk to him."

"Who?"

"Both of them, I guess. I need to see Hakeem first. Then I'll deal with Lucious' ass." It's better than dealing with whatever this is with Anika at the moment.

Anika knows how easy it is to fall into the clutches of Lucious Lyon and given the already fragile state of her relationship with Cookie, she's worried that any conversation with either Lyon man will be the end of them.

"Cookie. I know this whole situation is fucked up but don't push me away," she says as if she's reading Cookie's thoughts. "I don't want this to end us before we even get a chance to begin." Cookie walks around the counter to Anika but doesn't reach for her. She isn't used to someone wanting to be with her so badly. She gathers her things and kisses her on the cheek before leaving Anika's apartment. She calls a car service and heads to her own apartment to gather her thoughts before going over to Hakeem's apartment.

Anika walks to her bedroom and changes into some more comfortable clothing. While Cookie is busy dealing with her wayward son, Anika vows that she's going to fuck Lucious up where it hurts: his bank account and Empire.

* * *

While in the cab, Cookie called Jamal to find out where Hakeem was. Jamal having heard about Cookie and Anika's firing, bombarded Cookie with questions before she could actually get an answer as to where her youngest was. Turns out Hakeem was at Leviticus for a sound check. Cookie pulled up to the club and paid the driver before bursting through Leviticus' doors and looking for Hakeem.

Hakeem is in the middle of a song when Cookie yells out, "Hakeem! Bring yo ass off of that stage!"

The music stops and Hakeem looks over to his mother. "Ain't you fired? You can't be up in here."

"Imma be up in your ass if you don't tell me why you can't keep your damn mouth shut!"

Hakeem shrugs, "why should I? You ain't keep your hands off me when you found out I slept with Anika? You didn't even have a reason to be mad cause she was still engaged to dad. If anybody should know, it shoulda been him."

"And let me guess, you conveniently left out the fact that you slept with her?"

"Nah, I told him. And he was mad, but not as mad as when he found out you were seeing her too," he says with a smirk on his face.

Cookie puts a hand on her forehead and shakes her head. "Boy, you have no idea what you've just done."

"Nah, I do know. You want everything to go your way. First you wanted dad, but Anika had him so you slept with him behind her back and they broke up. But then you decided that you didn't want him and now you want her. But I slept with her first," Hakeem says proudly. "You called Anika everything but a child of God and you expect her to be with you after that? You weren't here for none of us but suddenly you're back and you expect everybody to welcome you with open arms. But since you been back you haven't done shit for me. You been working with Jamal and up under dad but you only worried about me when it comes to helping Jamal. And now Anika, I guess."

"Baby, you know that's not true." Cookie reaches out for Hakeem but he backs away from her. "I love you boys, y'all are the reason I'm here at Empire! I'm doing this for _you_!"

"You ain't doing shit for me!"

"Hakeem, I know you're upset but baby you don't understand. What Anika and I have...it's different from what your father and I had. I'm not trying to hurt you, son. I love you-"

"No you don't! You don't love anyone but yourself; you damn sure don't love me," he says before walking away from her and getting back on stage. He signals the DJ to start the song over, dismissing Cookie and their conversation.

Cookie turns to leave but not before knocking over some chairs in her wake. All of this craziness started when she started messing around with Anika. Maybe she needed to end things before they got any worse, although she didn't know how things could get any worse than they already were.

* * *

The absolute last thing Anika wants to do is speak to her parents but she needs a referral for an attorney so she can file a wrongful termination suit. It's been a few days since she and Cookie had been fired and Lucious refuses to answer her calls and calls to HR have gone nowhere since Lucious' hand is heavy within all aspects of Empire Entertainment. Cookie is all but ignoring her which only serves to make her more irritated. She refuses to let Cookie blame her for this mess that they're in and if she doesn't respond to her soon, she's going to make her to talk to her.

Anika knocks on the door and waits for someone to answer. Her parents' maid, Hilda, answers the door and Anika smiles. Hilly, as Anika affectionately calls her, has been with her family for years following them from the Islands.

"Ms. Anika! Your mother and father didn't say that you were coming home! Come in, sugar," Hilda ushers Anika into the home before shutting the door behind her not seeing the grimace on Anika's face when she says that Anika is home. Her parents may reside here but this place definitely wasn't her _home_. She finds both of her parents in the reading room which is surprising. Usually her father is holed up in his office and her mother is hosting a group of her friends gossiping. "Mom, dad," Anika speaks as she walks into the reading room. Both of them look up at her but neither smiles.

"Anika, we weren't expecting you," her mother puts her book down while her father puts down his paper.

"I know." Anika struggles to push the words out. "I needed...I need a favor. I need some help."

"What's wrong, honey?" Stanley asks. Anika doesn't come to her parents for anything and hasn't since they threatened to send her to Switzerland. She felt it was enough that they were letting her stay; she didn't want to give them any more reason to second guess that decision. Other than paying for college, she hadn't asked them fit a dime. She didn't even come to them with questions about her trust. The day she turned 25, she made a visit to their family financial advisor and signed the paperwork releasing it to her. Any questions she had she felt could be answered by the person keeping watch over the fund in the first place.

She shifts from foot to foot, anxious. She feels her mother's eyes watching her movements and forces herself to stand still.

"I've been fired from Empire and I need a referral for an attorney, dad," she says, addressing her father. Anika had connections but her father's connections were much deeper than hers.

She watches her mother's eyes narrow. "Surely he can't just _fire_ you. Something must have happened," Claire says with judgment in her voice.

Anika bites her tongue before speaking. "Yes, mother. Something _did_ happen. Lucious is upset because he can't get what he wants and he's taking it out on Cookie and I. HR isn't willing to help me so I need to secure an attorney to file a wrongful termination suit."

"You know this wouldn't have happened had you stayed engaged to him. Vile as he may be, he would've been able to provide for you and you'd still have a job."

Anika feels herself getting upset and she wants to keep the conversation as civil as possible. "I don't want to be with Lucious, Mother. I told you that when I ended the engagement."

"Sometimes it's not about what you _want_. You should've stayed with him. He's probably with that felon of an ex-wife and she's reaping all of the benefits you should be getting."

Anika bristles as her mother brings Cookie into the conversation but she throws her head back and laughs. "Oh, my God! You didn't even _like_ Lucious! I'm not getting back with him; hell, I don't even _want_ him! I just want my job back and I'm asking you for help."

While Anika hadn't outright told her parents why she ended her engagement, it wasn't hard to figure out that Cookie's presence had played a part in the demise of her relationship with Lucious. "Oh, please, Anika. Do you _really_ know what you want? It's always something different with you, you know. If you're not ruining your life trying to live that _lifestyle_ then you're walking away from something that could benefit you long-term. Instead, you allow your feelings to dictate the way you live your life. While you are wallowing in your feelings, his ex-wife is probably slinking her way into his bed giving him all of her prison diseases. Are you really going to let some woman who probably can't count to 100 unless she's counting her drug money and has no class whatsoever infiltrate your life and take your place? That drug dealer and thug former fiance of yours probably deserve each other but she'll be toasting to your demise while in your bed."

Every shot that Claire fired had hit its mark and struck every nerve Anika had. She knew that her mother wouldn't have been receptive to her coming to them for any type of help but she had to try. Her father sat there in silence, not coming to her defense or negating anything that her mother said. Passive as always, Stanley Calhoun never said anything to combat his wife's remarks. Perhaps it was because of his own extramarital affairs. Perhaps it was because he was no longer in love with Anika's mother but stayed because it was cheaper to stay married since they didn't have a prenuptial agreement. Anika didn't care about any of that, though. All she cared about was that her mother had thrown down the gauntlet and disrespected nearly every aspect of her life, including her Cookie, and she'd had enough. Before she could stop herself, the words were spilling out.

"I'd be careful about talking about the woman I love, Mother."

Claire's eyes widened comically. "You can't be serious! _Love?_ You really think you're in love with that woman? When have you even had the time to -You were just with Lucious and now you're a homosexual?! I thought you had put all of that nastiness behind you when you broke up with that girl?"

"Her name is Cookie, mother. And I didn't put anything behind me! I fucked girls behind your back for years and loved it!"

Appalled, Claire looked towards her husband who only looked at Anika with an unreadable look on his face. She turned back towards Anika, "I can't believe that you would come here asking for assistance and then throw your disgusting behavior in our faces! You-"

"You're unbelievable, you know that? I come here asking for help and you get mad over who I'm with or who I'm not with. I was fired because I'm in love with her but you don't care about that, do you? All you care about it money and how it can serve you but I don't care. And I'm done trying to reason with you. Goodbye." Anika turns to leave the house before she hears her mother call out, "You're a disgrace to this family, Anika, and until you decide to put a stop to this madness..."

Anika walks out before she hears the rest.

When she gets back to her apartment, she finds Cookie standing outside of her door. She opens the door for both of them and waits until Cookie walks through before closing the door.

Before Cookie has a chance to open her mouth Anika speaks, "Cookie, I just told my parents that I was fired for being in love with you. I asked them for help and they turned me down. I practically begged them for help to get our jobs back and I was told that I was a disgrace to our family because I'm in love with you. I had a job before you came here. I was somewhat happily in love with Lucious before you came here. I knew what my life was before you came here and Cookie Lyon didn't fit anywhere in it."

Anika could tell that Cookie was becoming hurt by her words but she needed to get this out. She needed them to be on the same page and Cookie couldn't keep freezing her out. She'd already lost too much in the short amount of time that she's known Cookie; she can't lose _her_ too.

"But here you are, challenging me, making me crazy, and making me fall in love with you for reasons I don't even know. Cookie, I've already lost so much since you've been here. I don't want to lose you, too. Please don't shut me out."

Cookie walks up to Anika and wipes away tears that she didn't know were falling.

"Anika, I….I don't know how to do this."

Scared and assuming the worst, Anika asks for clarification, "do what? Cookie, what are you talking about?"

"I can't do this, Anika."

"No, Cookie. No! Please don't do this!" Anika begs. She'd just poured her heart out _again_ and Cookie keeps letting her down.

"Anika, I can't...I can't lose my family again. I can't lose them over you. I'm sorry." Cookie holds onto Anika's hands and doesn't let them go no matter how hard Anika tries to free herself. She needs Anika to hear her, to understand where she's coming from.

She goes to kiss Anika on the corner of her lips but Anika pulls away before her lips can make contact.

"So, what? You're going to go back to Lucious and be this big, happy fucking family? You're just going to let me go?"

Cookie has tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Anika. I really am."

Anika pulls herself out of Cookie's grip and goes to the door to open it for her. Cookie lingers for a moment before leaving. Anika closes the door quickly behind Cookie and throws the glass that she'd left on her countertop earlier that morning against the wall. She watches the glass shatter as it represents her heart. Those Lyons had hurt her _again_ , and she hated herself for letting them.

Later that night she can't sleep and it's almost 4 am when she hears the email notification on her cell phone. She glances at it briefly and then sits up when she sees who the email is from.

The sender is Stanley Calhoun and the body of the message holds only the names and numbers of two attorneys and a brief message: "You said that you were both fired. I've listed two in the event your friend doesn't have an attorney representing her."

There are no apologies, and Anika knows this is the best that she's going to get from her father. She sets her phone down and tries to go to sleep trying not to focus on the fact that she misses Cookie's arms holding her.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: The last chapter of this story is mostly complete and it's making me sad. As of right now there are 6 chapters left following this one. At least I think so. This story is practically writing itself at this point, damn my pre-written plot points. I'm not an attorney so let's pretend for the sake of this story that this is the way the law works. Also, to my knowledge, Paulson, Myers, and Lincoln doesn't exist. If it does, I don't own it.**

 **-ED**

Cookie was woken up by her phone blaring it's generic ringtone. She pulled the covers from over her face and answered the phone without looking at the screen. "What?!"

"Uh, yes, is this Loretha Lyon?" the voice on the other the door of the line asked.

Cookie sat up in bed, fully awake now. "Who's asking?"

"My name is Alison Roberts and I'm calling on behalf of David Paulson of Paulson, Myers, and Lincoln. Am I speaking with Ms. Lyon?"

"How the hell did you get my number?" Cookie asked while putting the call on speaker and looking up the names she was told.

"My apologies, Ms. Lyon. Mr. Paulson received a referral on your behalf from a Stanley Calhoun regarding a wrongful termination suit."

As the woman is talking, Cookie pulls up the firm's website and sure enough, they're accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

"What? Wrongful term….Stanley Calhoun? I don't know no…" Cookie trails off as the name rings a bell. _Anika._ "How did you get my number again?"

"Mr. Paulson received a phone referral from Mr. Calhoun stating you may need representation for a wrongful termination suit. Is this correct or have you secured representation?"

"Yes. I mean no. I mean, no, I don't have any other representation," Cookie stammered. The whole phone call is confusing her. Anika said that her parents had refused to help her but her dad set up a referral for her? What about Anika? _Oh, God_. Cookie had broken up with her the day before and she felt terrible. She wanted to reach out and call Anika and take it back but she felt like what she was doing was best.

She came back to Empire to get her family back and she had every plan of doing so, but Anika's presence threw her off and she had ended up falling in love with her, effectively screwing up her plans. And even if Cookie tried, she knew she shouldn't blame Anika for them getting fired. She was in just as deep as Anika, the only difference was Cookie was willing to walk away for everyone's sake, despite the hurt she caused and felt doing it.

"Ms. Lyon, are you still there?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm still here. What do I have to do?"

"Mr. Paulson would like to meet with you to go over the logistics of the suit and determine the next steps that need to be taken. We usually like to mediate cases like these so it doesn't have to go before a judge. Are you available this afternoon?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Cookie took down the address to the law firm and ended the call. She rubbed her temples in hopes of keeping the headache that was forming beneath her skull at bay but it wasn't working. She needed her Kitten's touch.

Cookie picked up her phone and thought about calling Anika, at the very least to thank her, but she knew if she did she'd try to take her words from yesterday back and she knew that she needed to stay firm. Anika would move on and find a man that her parents could accept and she'd have children and move on. She didn't want to be the reason why Anika was estranged from her parents; she knew how much their rejection hurt her. And Cookie had already spent too much time away from her boys. She needed to be their mother and she felt she couldn't do that the way she wanted if she was with Anika.

Cookie met with Mr. Paulson and from the information he gathered from Cookie, he felt that they could settle during mediation and Cookie could return to Empire. Cookie shared the reasons behind her firing and hearing the story from start to finish out loud pained her.

"Now, Ms. Lyon, you should know that all parties will be present at the mediation, including Mr. Lyon and Ms. Calhoun. Will this be a problem for you?"

"No," Cookie lied, "It'll be fine."

"Great, we should have everything in place for mediation to occur in two weeks. Ms. Roberts will give you a call confirming the date.

"Ok, thank you, Mr. Paulson."

"You're welcome, Ms. Lyon. And don't worry, we'll take care of you. Stanley and I go way back and he doesn't use his connections freely. If he's made a referral on your behalf you must mean a lot to him or someone close to him."

Cookie nodded, "yeah, I do."

* * *

In two weeks time, Cookie found herself at Empire once again. This time, however, instead of waking freely she found herself being escorted to a private conference room where the mediation was to be held. According to Mr. Paulson, mediations were usually held at his office or in a courthouse but Cookie was vehemently opposed to being in a courthouse and felt like Empire was less threatening.

When she walked into the room, Anika was already present with her attorney, Taralyn Harris. Anika didn't look at Cookie when she walked into the room or when she sat down across from her. Ms. Harris leaned over and whispered in Anika's ear and Cookie's eyes narrowed as she felt a twinge of jealousy. Despite Anika helping Cookie secure an attorney, the two women hadn't spoken or seen each other. Anika was too heartbroken and Cookie felt guilty.

Hearing the door open, she turned and watched as her attorney walked in followed by Lucious and none other than Thirsty Rawlings.

"I thought you were a criminal lawyer?" Anika asks taking the words right out of Cookie's mouth.

"You needn't worry yourself about what type of lawyer I am, young lady," he states as he sits down in his loud purple suit. Anika opens her mouth ready to retort when Cookie says, "Hell, Lucious is an expert at breaking the law; He needs a criminal lawyer." Lucious and Anika both look at Cookie.

"Says the convicted felon," Thirsty returns. Cookie is up out of her seat and prepared to snatch him by his purple lapels when she feels Mr. Paulson grab her elbow.

"Mr. Rawlings, that wasn't necessary," Mr. Paulson inserts still holding onto Cookie. He won cases and he wasn't about to let Cookie's penchant for violence change that.

"Indeed, especially when my client is the only one present without a criminal record," Ms. Harris chimes in. Both Lucious and Cookie cut their eyes at Anika who raises an eyebrow in response. Cookie rolls her eyes and fights to hide a smirk. Her Kitten was such a good girl. And she really needed to stop referring to Anika as her Kitten. Because she definitely wasn't hers anymore.

Mr. Paulson pulled out Cookie's chair so she could take a seat before sitting down himself. The mediator began her proceedings by announcing to everyone present the cause for their meeting and the desire of all of the parties involved to come to an agreement without involving the court.

Mr. Paulson addressed Cookie first, getting her version of the events: Lucious fired both her and Anika and as far as she could tell, he didn't have a reason that could be backed by Human Resources.

"Mr. Lyon, according to Ms. Lyon's personnel file, she was in the process of training with Ms. Calhoun who was the head of A&R, correct?"

Lucious smiled, "That is correct."

"And upon reviewing her file, my team hadn't found any demerits or other paperwork signifying that Ms. Lyon had unsatisfactory behavior in the workplace. Are you aware of this?"

"No, I'm not. There were plenty of times where Cookie was late to meetings or only participated by telephone because she wasn't present."

"That was _one time_ , Lucious, and you know that!" Cookie exclaimed.

"We didn't find that information in her file," Mr. Paulson continued.

Lucious looked at Cookie with pity. "This was her first job since being released from prison. I wanted to go easy on her but maybe that was a mistake."

Cookie took to tapping the pen in her hand incessantly to curb her anger. Before long, Ms. Harris began speaking on Anika's behalf.

"Mr. Lyon, Mr. Paulson and I's client's claims are pretty similar; in fact, they're almost identical. Why is that?"

"Because they were dismissed at the same time," Lucious responds.

"I've reviewed Ms. Calhoun's file and it's free of blemishes, unless there were some behaviors of Ms. Calhoun which you failed to notate?"

Lucious looked at Anika, "No, Anika was good at her job. She was the best," although he was loath to admit it.

"So why _dismiss_ her, as you so called it?"

"Empire has a policy regarding relationships within the workplace. Anika and Cookie violated it," Lucious said, finally admitting to the reason they were all sitting together. Both attorneys advised their clients that it would be best if Lucious brought up their relationship so they could use the information against him.

"I see. Was that policy in place and implemented before or after your engagement to my client ended?"

Lucious paused and redness started to creep up his neck. "After."

Ms. Harris nodded. "And this is written in your handbook?"

The redness begins to spread to his face. "I believe so."

"Are you certain? Because I have a copy of your handbook right here," she says, pulling a copy of Empire's handbook from her files. "I didn't find any policies related to workplace relationships? And this is the most recent copy I received from your Human Resources office."

When Lucious nor Thirsty say anything, Ms. Harris continues. "While combing through the handbook, I had my team review copies of the surveillance tapes from the day of the dismissal. It seems that you had some choice words for my client and Mr. Paulson's client. Do you recall what you said that day?"

Squeezing his hands into fists, Lucious answers in the affirmative.

"Where are you going with this, Ms. Harris?" Thirsty asks, finally coming to his client's aid.

"Mr. Rawlings, what your client said on that tape has the power to change this suit from wrongful termination to discrimination. _'Y'all can dyke together all you want to, but it ain't gonna be under this roof.'_ Isn't that what you said, Mr. Lyon?"

Cookie watched as the vein in Lucious' forehead bulged. She knew Lucious like the back of her hand. When he was angry, he'd grind his teeth and make fists like he was currently doing. It would only be a moment before he blew-

"Yeah. I said it and I meant it. Them bitches ain't gon' fuck around in my house!" he yells as he hits his fist on the table.

"Lucious, calm down!" Thirsty says trying to calm his client.

"No! That bitch fucked my son and then went and fucked my wife!"

" _Ex-_ wife!" Both Anika and Cookie proclaim.

"Lucious, you've slept with countless other women and I never complained because I loved you. I only slept with Hakeem because you cheated on me with Cookie!" Anika cries. "You hurt me and I hated you!"

"And I hate you, you stupid bitch!"

" _LUCIOUS_! You not gon' talk to her like that!" Cookie says coming to Anika's defense.

"This bitch is ruining our family and I'm not going to let her ruin what I built!" he yells hitting himself on the chest.

"Look at yourself, Lucious! Hell, look at your sons! You're the one ruining your family! You're the one ruining this company! You're so damn greedy you only care about yourself." Echoing Hakeem, she shakes her head, "you don't give a damn about anybody but yourself. You so damn concerned about _your_ company that you're willing to shit on everybody else around you. My money built this company but I don't have anything to say for it because of you."

Cookie looks around the table before standing up. "I'm not doing this anymore, Lucious. I'm done with you and I'm done with Empire."

"Cookie, what are you doing?" Anika asks her, speaking to her for the first time in weeks.

"What I should've done a long time ago. Lucious, I want my money back and I want whatever shares I would've had had I been with when Empire was first founded until now."

"You out of your got damn mind, Cookie."

"Actually, she's not," Mr. Paulson states. "If Ms. Lyon can prove that you started Empire with her funds then you will most certainly pay."

"It was drug money!" Lucious counters.

"And should that information be released to the public, Empire will fold and you won't have a company to fire people from."

"This is bullshit!"

"No, it's smart," Thirsty says as he gathers up his papers. They aren't nearly as populous as Ms. Harris' but he _was_ prepared. Somewhat. "The sooner you give her what she wants, she sooner she's out of your hair and you don't have to worry about her ghetto ass hollering about how she built this place.

"Nigga, I got your ghetto!" Cookie yells as Mr. Paulson grabs hold of her elbow again.

"Mr. Rawlings, I trust that you'll be in touch regarding a settlement?" Mr. Paulson asks.

"And we'll be in touch regarding ours," Ms. Harris says on Anika's behalf.

"i ain't giving her shit!" Lucious shouts.

"Then the discrimination suit will stand. I'll have our request prepared by the end of the week."

All parties prepare to exit the conference room but despite how private the room may have been initially, voices carry and nothing in Empire stays private for long.

Anika is surprised to see Jamal when she opens the door to leave the conference room.

"Jamal?"

Jamal enters the conference room followed by Andre and Hakeem.

"Yo, what's going on? Ma, I thought you and Anika were fired?" Jamal asks his mother.

"Jamal...Andre, Hakeem...I need to tell y'all something," Cookie starts before Hakeem cuts her off.

"Nah, we heard you. You leaving Empire."

"Cookie," Andre starts before Jamal says, "ma, you can't leave. You're my manager, I need you."

"Mal, it's complicated, but I'm still going to be here for you. I don't need to work at Empire to manage you."

"Man, please, you probably ain't gon hear from her. She too busy up under Anika-"

"Oh, shut _up_ , Hakeem!" Anika yells. "You are _such_ a child! I should've never slept with you!"

Anika's admission causes Andre and Jamal to start questioning their brother and before long, everyone is arguing save for the attorneys and mediator who have slipped out of the room. Anika's phone rings and she answers it when she sees that it's Rocky. She debates ignoring the call but then remembers Gran and decides to answer. She walks out of the room and into the hallway where she can hear better.

After a few minutes, Cookie notices that Anika is gone and she leaves the conference room where she sees Anika, pale and silent.

"Anika? Anika, what's wrong?" Cookie asks walking over to her.

"Gran had a massive heart attack. She's in the hospital. I have..I have to go." Anika walks into the conference room to grab her things but she's moving out of muscle memory rather than actual purpose and she's scaring Cookie.

Cookie calls out to Anika, "Baby, wait, I'm coming with you."

"Baby?" "What? Where?" Jamal and Andre say at the same time. They knew that Cookie and Anika had at least slept together due to Lucious outing them but they didn't know the extent of their mother's relationship with Anika.

Anika gets her things together while Cookie books their flights. It's a 4 hour flight and they're going straight to JFK with no luggage. Cookie is gathering her own items when Lucious grabs her arm. "Cookie if you go with her-" he starts but Cookie jerks her arm out of his grasp before he can finish his threat. "Don't you ever put your hands on me again."

She turns to Jamal, "I'll call you when we land." she squeezes his hand before squeezing Andre and Hakeem's arms and then taking Anika by the hand and calling a cab for them.

When they're on the plane, Cookie holds one of Anika's hands. It's the most public gesture that Cookie has made regarding their relationship but Anika doesn't seem to register what's happening, or so she thought. Anika is looking out of the window but Cookie feels Anika intertwine their fingers and hold on tightly to her hand. Cookie brings Anika's hand up and kisses her knuckles as she brings their joined hands down to her lap. She sends up a silent prayer that Anika's grandmother will be alright because she doesn't know how Anika will react if she's not.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I've had this chapter written for a while and it seems like it's taken forever to get here. Also, thank you for the feedback you all have given thus far, whether it's a favorite, follow, review, kudos, bookmark or a comment. I view them all and they make my day.**

 **-ED**

Anika and Cookie arrived at Health City Cayman Islands where Anika was met with most of her extended family. She was about to ask someone, anyone, for an update on Gran when she felt a body slam into her and wrap her in a hug. Anika felt tears on her shoulder and she stepped back to see Rocky with tears streaming down her face.

"Rocky, she was fine a few days ago. What happened?"

"She went into cardiac arrest due to sepsis stemming from renal failure."

"Renal failure? Wha...when did this happen and why didn't she tell anyone?"

Rocky's face turns to one of anger before becoming sad again. "Mom knew; Gran actually made her swear on the Bible that she wouldn't tell anyone. She's had kidney disease for years."

"But she's going to be okay, right?"

Rocky shook her head. "Nini….She said she just wants to be comfortable."

Cookie gasped and placed her hand in the small of Anika's back and Rocky watched as Cookie attempted to comfort her cousin. Out of all of the grandchildren, Anika was closest to their grandmother and she knew Anika would take it the hardest. She hoped that Cookie really did care for her cousin because she she knew Anika would be a mess following their grandmother's death and she was going to need someone in her corner.

Anika shook her head. "No, that's not right, Rocky. She wouldn't just _give up._ She's too strong for that."

"She's tired, Ni. She said she's been sick for years and she's tired of being in pain all of the time. Look, why don't you go in to see her? She's been waiting for you."

Anika walks with Cookie and stands just inside of the door where her grandmother lies. She expects to see her grandmother with tubes coming out of every orifice but surprisingly she just has a simple IV drip.

"Gran?" Anika calls out as she walks towards the bed where the dying woman lies. Cookie hangs back just inside the door. She understands that Anika needs this time alone with her grandmother and the room is big enough to where they can have some semblance of privacy. Anika pulls a chair up next to the bed and strokes her grandmother's salt and pepper hair.

Gran, also known as Grace Toussaint, opens her eyes and sees Anika looking at her with tears glistening in hers. Anika moves to hold her grandmother's hand and she feels a weak squeeze in return.

"Why didn't you tell anyone that you were sick, Gran?"

Smart as ever, Gran replies, "I told your aunt Patrice."

Anika fights the urge to roll her eyes. "Why didn't you tell anyone else?"

"Because I wanted to die in peace! And I knew that you all wouldn't have let me. You love me too much to let me go."

Anika lays her head on top of her Gran's hand. "I don't want to let you go; I'm not ready."

"I know, baby, but it's time. You have your whole life ahead of you, baby girl. You need to live it and don't worry about this old woman. I know I've lived a good life; besides, I'm ready to see your Granddaddy and cuss him for leaving me."

Gran looks over to Cookie standing in the doorway and asks, "That her?"

Anika smiles before nodding, "That's her."

"You love her?" Anika nods. "You told her?" Anika nods again. "You stop fighting?" Anika pauses. "Anika," she pauses to cough, "You deserve to be happy and I hope she can give you that. Protect your heart, baby girl. If she doesn't deserve it, let her go. Do you understand?" Anika nods once more.

"I want to talk to her."

Anika looks up with slight terror on her face and Gran frowns at her. "What? I'm not going to kill her; I just want to talk to her. I don't have much time left, you know," Gran says using Anika's emotions to get her way. She may be dying but she's not gone yet and she still knows how to get her way.

Anika gets up from the chair and walks towards Cookie, "She wants to talk to you."

Cookie grimaces, "Why?"

Anika shrugs, "I don't know, she just does."

Before Cookie can refuse, Gran calls out, "You would deny an old woman her dying wish? Come on over here, gal!"

Cookie grimaces at being called gal and then looks at Anika. "I see where you get it from." Anika smirks in response before pushing Cookie towards the bed. Cookie sits down in the chair and looks at Gran, whose eyes are now closed, with uncertainty. Gran opens one eye and looks at Cookie before opening the other and narrowing both.

"What kind of a name is Cookie, anyway?"

Cookie smiles slightly and replies that it's her nickname.

"From what I've heard you're not all that sweet."

"Yeah, well, your 'baby girl' ain't all that sweet either," Cookie returns.

"Ha! She better not be," Gran says going into a coughing fit. Cookie holds a cup of water with a straw up to Gran's mouth and holds it as she shakily takes a sip.

When she's done, she leans back down and Cookie puts the cup of water back on the table where she found it. "What's your real name?" Cookie responds that her government name is Loretha and Gran replies, "Ah, Lori, then." Cookie smiles at the nickname. On her good days, her mother called her Lori when she was a child.

"Listen, Lori. I don't have much time so I need you to cut the shit. Do you love my granddaughter?"

Cookie replies in the affirmative without hesitation.

"Good. Because as sure as I know that I'm going to see our Heavenly Father upon my transition, if you break my baby's heart... _again_ , I'll hold on just so I can ensure that you suffer dearly. You understand me, Lori?" Gran's gaze on Cookie doesn't falter as she awaits her response.

If Cookie is taken aback by Gran's words, she isn't showing it. Instead she holds her hand out and waits until Gran places her own in the outstretched hand. With tears threatening to fall, she looks at Gran and speaks her final words to the dying woman, "Yeah, I understand."

Gran weakly squeezes Cookie's hand, "Take care of my baby. If you love her like you say you do, don't hurt her anymore." At this point Cookie is struggling to keep it together for Anika's sake. She knows Anika is hurting enough as it is and Cookie needs to be strong for the both of them right now.

"Alright, Lori. Send the rest of them in and tell em to hurry up. This old lady is trying to see Jesus."

Fortunately for Cookie, she doesn't have to relay the message because the rest of the family had gathered around the hospital door. Sure that they had all heard her admission, Cookie doesn't speak.

Instead, she walked over to Anika and took her by the hand. They exit the room and prepare to walk down the hallway when Anika stops moving, jerking Cookie back. She's frozen in place and when Cookie follows her line of sight, she sees a woman with features similar to Anika standing next to a white man. Cookie correctly surmises that these are Anika's parents.

Anika doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want to cause a scene and with the blow up that she had with her parents a few weeks ago, she doubts that they've changed their stance on her relationship that quickly. Noticing the war waging within Anika, Cookie takes action. Anika feels Cookie tug her hand signaling her to move forward. "Come on, baby, let's go," she hears Cookie say and soon enough her legs start moving seemingly on their own. She doesn't look at her parents as she passes them by and she's glad that they let them pass without issue.

As they make their way down the hall towards the lobby of the hospital, Anika feels a sob stirring from the pit of her belly. She tries her hardest to wait until they are fully in private, but her grief is so paramount that she finds herself slumped against Cookie as tears start streaming down her face.

With a wail that she had been holding in since she first received the phone call about her grandmother, Anika releases her grief to the world and falls to the ground. One of Anika's family members runs to them and helps Cookie lift Anika from the floor. Cookie calls the cab service they used to get to the hospital and calls for a ride to their hotel. Cookie had lucked out and was able to get them a suite at the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman. Cookie initially wasn't able to get the suite but once she dropped the Lyon name, the staff was all too accommodating and she was told that their suite would be ready upon their arrival.

Once inside of their suite, Cookie helped Anika lie down on the bed and then went into the kitchen to get her a bottle of water. She had just opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle when she jumped after hearing her phone ring in her purse.

She dug it out from the bottom and saw Jamal's face on the screen. "Hello? Jamal?"

"Mom, what happened? I thought you were going to call me?"

"I'm sorry, Jamal, things have been…" she blows out a breath, "crazy since we landed."

"I'm sure. How's Anika holding up?"

Cookie looks towards the room, "Not good. Her grandmother is dying and she's so hurt, Mal."

"Then it's good that you're there with her to support her."

Although he may not have meant it negatively Cookie felt guilty. "Look, Mal. I'm sorry for not telling you about all of this."

"Ma, you're fine. You deserve to have a life that's separate from Lucious and if Anika makes you happy then you should be with her."

"She does, son. I love her."

"I believe you. Go take care of her and I'll see you when you get back."

"Thank you, Jamal."

"No problem, ma. I got you."

After her phone call, Cookie walked into the room to find Anika sitting on the side of the bed. She was no longer crying but the tear stains were still visible. Cookie sat the bottle on the nightstand and kneeled in front of Anika.

"Anika, baby, how are you feeling?"

Anika looked down at Cookie and reached down to hold her face in her hands. Anika leaned down to kiss Cookie with such a tenderness that Cookie hadn't felt before, she couldn't do anything but kiss her in return. Before long, Anika's kisses increased with urgency and she pulled Cookie up between her legs. She wrapped her legs around Cookie's waist and began to unbutton Cookie's blouse when Cookie grabbed Anika's hands to stop her.

"Anika, what-"

"Please," Anika whispered, tears in her eyes once more. "I need...I need to feel you. Please, Cookie, I just...I need you. _Please_ ," Anika begged.

Anika felt so much pain that all she wanted was for Cookie to make her feel better. The one person in her life that had never failed her was dying and would soon leave her. Anika wanted, no, she _needed_ to feel Cookie. She needed to feel that someone loved her and wouldn't leave her.

Cookie kissed Anika and then let Anika unbutton her blouse and let it fall to the floor. She let Anika undress her completely and watched as she peppered her body with kisses as each article of clothing fell to the floor. Cookie helped Anika out of her dress and removed her bra and panties before laying her down on the bed. Anika tried to flip Cookie to the bottom, she _needed_ to feel Cookie; but Cookie stopped her movements with a kiss and let her hand fall between Anika's legs. Cookie kissed and licked her way down until she was between Anika's thighs. She knew Anika needed her in this moment but she wanted to be the one to make her feel good. She would get an opportunity to feel Cookie, just not in the manner that she thought. If Anika needed Cookie, she would have her; Cookie was prepared to do everything in her power to show Anika that she had her and wasn't going anywhere.

She massaged Anika with her lips and tongue until she felt the younger woman writhing beneath her. She felt Anika's orgasm building and doubled her efforts as shockwaves flowed through the other woman. While still licking Anika through her orgasm, Cookie began pumping two fingers in and out of Anika in order to build another.

" _Cooooookieeee_ ….please. _Please._ I need...I need it so badly…..I need you... _pleeeeease_." Anika pleads with Cookie as her next orgasm tears through her.

As Anika is coming down from her high, Cookie crawls up next to Anika and draws her into her arms. Anika's chest clenches as she feels a sob building. Cookie feels her shaking and wraps her arms around Anika as sobs erupt from within her.

"I know baby, let it out." Cookie says over and over as she rocks Anika in her arms. "I know it hurts. I know. It's going to be okay, Anika. I got you."

Anika doesn't know if the hurt will ever go away but it's in this moment that Anika realizes that Cookie truly does have her. She falls asleep in Cookie's arms as Cookie continues to whisper that she's got her.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I'm slowly coming around to the idea of Malcolm DeVeaux (even though he's been gone for a whole season). He was good for Cookie and a hell of a lot less toxic than Lucious. I've been toying with the idea of doing a Malcolm/Cookie fic but idk if I'd be able to do it justice. We shall see.**

 **And a timeline of sorts because I've confused myself: The year is 2015, Cookie came home in January, L & C's Anniversary is March 21st, Malcolm left at the end of May, A & C are fired around June 15th (I've updated the previous chapter changing the tidbit about Rocky calling in the middle of the school day as school is out by now), Anika gets the call about Gran on July 3rd and Gran passes later that night, They stay on GCI until July 8th and we're currently still in July. I hope this makes sense.**

 **-ED**

Anika opened the door to her apartment and held it open for Cookie as she walked in behind her. She was exhausted; she felt like she had experienced every emotion possible in the last week and a half and the majority of them weren't pleasant. If Anika had any doubts that Cookie had loved her, they were squashed while they were on GCI. Cookie answered questions about their relationship (within reason), braided hair, did laundry, babysat, and was there whenever and wherever she was needed - although Anika's family had refused to let her cook. But most importantly, she held Anika when her grief flowed through her like waves.

Gran had passed a few hours after they had gone to their hotel and Anika's aunt Patrice was the one to make the phone call. She told Anika that the home going service had already been planned and was going to be held in 2 days. Prior to her death, Gran had stated that she didn't want her body to lay above the land longer than necessary. She firmly believed 'for dust you are and to dust you will return.' The Will was to be read following the funeral. In the end, Anika was willed some land owned by her late grandfather and she promised herself that she would build a home on the land and reside there upon her retirement. She was also willed some jewelry including Gran's wedding ring. Gran was pretty fair in dispersing her property and money so there wasn't much commotion following the reading of the will. The real shit storm occurred the following day when Anika's mother and father came to collect certain items they wanted to take back to home.

Anika and Cookie were already at Gran's sorting through the jewelry that Anika was given and some of the quilts that her grandmother had sewn. Anika loved her grandmother's quilts and wanted at least one to take back home although she planned to clear it with her aunt Patrice first. Cookie was in Gran's bedroom holding a garnet ring when she heard Anika's mother, "I hope you don't plan on stealing my mother's jewelry. It's bad enough you're a drug dealer; I don't need my daughter dating some lesbian thief as well."

Cookie looked up at Claire and smirked. "If I wanted the ring I'd have it; my baby loves to please."

"Put my mother's jewelry down, thief."

"Get it right, bitch. I went to prison for drug dealing, not stealing."

" _Cookie!"_ Anika shouted as she hurried into the room. She had heard the sound of her mother's voice while she was talking to Patrice and hurried to find Cookie before she and her mother had gotten into it although it seemed as if she was too late.

"Anika, get this disrespectful hoodrat out of my mother's house!"

"Call me out my name again, bitch-" Cookie starts before Anika cuts her off and stands between them.

"Cookie! Mom, you need to stop! Cookie hasn't done anything wrong and she's been nothing but helpful-" Anika has to stop herself because the words coming from her mouth sound so foreign. If you were to tell her 6 months ago that she would be singing Cookie Lyon's praises for any reason, Anika would've thought they were certifiable, but here they were.

"Stop antagonizing my girlfriend; she isn't doing anything wrong," Anika says in Cookie's defense. Cookie decides to file away the tingle she feels when Anika calls her her girlfriend for a later time.

"I don't want _her_ alone with my mother's things. Who knows what she's already hidden away?"

Anika glares at her mother before turning to Cookie, "Cookie, can you give us a moment?"

Cookie scowls as she leaves the room, but not before kissing Anika soundly on the lips. Cookie couldn't pass up an opportunity to be petty and piss off Anika's mother at the same time. Cookie smirks at Claire as she closes the door on her way out of the room. The door hardly muffles their voices, however, and every word said is heard by those within vicinity of the bedroom.

Before Claire can tear Cookie down again, Anika asks her mother, "is there something that you needed other than harassing my girlfriend and I?"

Claire shakes her head. "I don't know where we went wrong with you, Anika. You're intelligent; you're beautiful; you can have any man you want but instead you choose to throw your life away to be with that woman."

"How am I throwing my life away? And please, find some new material that doesn't involve Lucious."

"Don't be stupid, Anika. You've walked away from a well paying job and who do you think is going to hire you after you've been fired by the likes of Lucious Lyon? You may settle outside of court but how long will that money last? You've ruined your life over a woman who could up and leave you at any given moment. And then where will you be? Alone, broke, and without means for survival."

"First you call me beautiful then you call me stupid. And thanks for your help, dad. Ms. Harris worked wonders during the mediation."

Her mother is capitalizing on all of Anika's fears and as much as she hates to admit it, she has a point. Cookie can be flaky when it comes to relationships; she doesn't even know if their relationship will last and then where will she be?

"It's bad enough that you're in a relationship with a woman, how do you expect to have a family?"

Her relationship with Cookie is so new that having a family with Cookie isn't something that's crossed Anika's mind but it's definitely not a conversation she's going to have with her mother.

While Anika is arguing with her parents, Cookie is in the kitchen with Rocky.

Rocky is nursing a tea when Cookie walks into the kitchen and sits at the breakfast table. Cookie doesn't know what to make of Rocky and she suspects that the feeling is mutual. While the woman hasn't been outright hostile towards her, she's been icy at best which is understandable. Just when Cookie thinks that they are going to be sitting together in silence, Rocky says, "so how do two women who hate each other manage to fall in love, because I can't seem to wrap my head around it."

Cookie shrugs, "You and me both."

"What is it about Nini?"

"You gonna threaten my life if I hurt her? I've had that talk, thanks," Cookie says as she accepts thr glass of water that Rocky hands her.

"No, I'm genuinely interested. For the past few months, you've been Nini's go-to topic of conversation and when she's not speaking highly of you, she's cursing your name."

A laugh, "That sounds about right. I don't know, though. She's…..she's something. It just took me a while to see it."

Rocky nods, "She loves the hell out of you, you know."

"Yeah, I do know."

"It's different though; Like, she's never fought this hard for anyone and Claire gave her pure hell when she first announced she was dating Lucious, but not as bad what she's going through now. Anika is one of the strongest women I know but when it comes to love, it's like she loses her mind. She always seems to fall for the ones who don't deserve her."

"And you think I don't deserve her?" She was tired of people telling her that she didn't deserve Anika. She knew that. People telling her that only served as a reminder of all of the shit she put Anika through.

"I didn't say that. I see the way you look at her. I see how you are with her- protective, caring. You make sure she eats, you hold her, anything she needs and you're right there. Even if you said you didn't love her, I'd say you were lying because it's obvious that you do. This is probably the first time you're hearing this but I'm glad you two are together. I'm glad she has you. She deserves to have someone love her as much as she loves them. And she loves her some Cookie Lyon. I just hope you let her love you because it's what she needs the most right now."

Cookie nods and Rocky gets up from the table and leaves the kitchen but not before squeezing Cookie's shoulder on the way out.

Cookie didn't know how much she needed to hear someone be supportive of her relationship with Anika. She's finding that it's easier to love Anika away from Empire, away from Lucious.

She was about to get something to get more water when she heard Anika yelling.

"You've never supported me in _anything_ that I've done!"

"How can you say that? We've been there your entire life and we've seen you through college!" Stanley said, finally speaking.

"You only saw me through college because it would've been unacceptable if I hadn't gone. Dad, you never have anything to say other than asking how I plan on furthering my career because what good am I if I don't have a fucking job. Hell, the only reason you even e-mailed me the information about the attorneys was because it was work related! God-forbid Stanley Calhoun's daughter be without a job. God-forbid Stanley Calhoun's daughter does anything that would tarnish his name!"

"Sweetie, that's not true," Stanley says, reaching for his daughter but Anika is quick and moves out of his way.

"Isn't it, though? You were going to send me to fucking Switzerland because and I quote, 'no daughter of mine is going to be some perverted carpet muncher.' You were ready to send me across the world without another thought because I kissed a girl."

"Anika, we only want what's best for you."

"You don't know what's best for me! The both of you have no right to say anything about my relationship with Cookie because yours is built on bullshit." Anika yells as her Caymanian accent is now full force. "You don't care about me, you only care about how I reflect you. I am _not_ a child anymore and I'm not going to let you dictate how I live my life."

"You are so ungrateful. We didn't raise you like this and I'm not going to stand here and listen to you slander us in this way," Claire says with a face full of disgust.

"You're right; you didn't raise me. Gran did."

Anika says the next words with such confidence, she nearly takes Cookie's breath away. "Cookie loves me and it feels so good to be able to say that. She loves me in a way that I can't explain and you can't imagine. She's going to be in my life and I don't give a damn what you or anyone else has to say about it. If you can't accept that then we have nothing else to discuss."

Cookie watches as Anika's parents walk away and leave the home without saying anything else to their daughter. Anika is breathing hard and Cookie goes to comfort Anika when she moves out of her way. "Let's just get this stuff finished."

"Anika-"

"I'm fine, Cookie, really. I just want to finish this so we can go home."

They end up returning to New York earlier than anticipated and Cookie was determined to not leave Anika alone. Although Anika had carried the jewelry on the plane with her, she chose to have the remaining items shipped to her apartment at a later date. She hadn't seen her parents during the remainder of their time on GCI and Cookie could tell that it was bothering Anika although she insisted that it didn't.

Once they were in New York, Anika did nothing but stay in bed. She ignored virtually all phone calls save for the one she received from Ms. Harris. Anika's settlement was submitted and should Lucious agree, her contract would be paid out in addition to damages and time and suffering. Cookie had received a similar settlement except hers included millions as part of her agreement regarding her shares. They were finally free from Empire and Cookie didn't know how to feel about it. She needs to talk to someone and since Anika isn't available at the moment, there's only one other person she can think to call.

"Ms. Lyon, to what do I owe this phone call?"

Cookie hears a female voice in the background and hears shuffling on the other line.

"Sorry, was this a bad time?"

"No, it's fine. What's going on?"

"She loves me, Malcolm."

"I could've told you that. I think I did tell you that."

"Shut up! I didn't call you so you could be an asshole."

"So why did you call me, Cookie?" Malcolm asks chuckling on the other line.

"I don't want to mess this up but I'm scared that I will," she says, stepping out to Anika's balcony.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you think you'll hurt her?"

"Because it's all I've done since I've met her. I don't want to be like every other person that's hurt her."

"You don't want to be like Lucious."

"No, I don't want to be like Lucious."

And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You deserve the same love you're wanting to give her. I mean, you ain't innocent-" "hey!" "-but you've been through a lot, too, Cookie. Even with everything you two have been through she still loves you. That's gotta count for something."

Cookie ponders over Malcolm's words for a moment.

"I really love her, Malcolm. I mean, I really….I really care about her. I've never loved anybody like this."

"Damn, you really know how to make a brother feel good about himself."

"Shut up, Malcolm. This ain't about you."

Malcolm laughs, "Trust me, I know."

"Besides, it ain't like you worried about me. Who was that hoe in the background?"

"She's not a hoe, Cookie, and I don't appreciate you referring to her as such."

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry. I guess you really like her, huh?"

"Enough to buy a ring."

"Awwww shit! You're really going to marry her?" Cookie squeals. Despite everything, she still wanted to see him happy.

"She's said yes before so I'm gonna take my chances and hope she says yes again."

"The fiance? What was her name, Melody?"

"Melanie."

"Alright, Mr. DeVeaux. Well, I hope she says yes. And you better invite me to the wedding."

"Please, like you'd come."

"I would! I'll bring Anika, too. So we can show you what you missed by going to DC."

"Already planning long term, huh? Although I'm not sure about having my ex and my next in the same vicinity."

"Boy, please. Ain't nobody even thinking of you."

"I bet. I wouldn't think of me either with Anika in my face."

"Hey! That's my girlfriend you're talking about!"

"Exactly. And you have nothing to worry about. You two will be okay, Cookie. You love each other too much not to be. I don't know Anika that well but I don't think she wants much; she just wants you."

Cookie smiles into the phone, "thanks, Malcolm."

"Anytime, Cook."

Cookie hangs up and steps back into the apartment and walks towards Anika's bedroom where she had been lying quietly. Cookie gets into bed behind Anika in a spooning position and wraps her arms around her. Cookie kisses the back of Anika's head softly and Anika sighs before turning around in Cookie's arms.

They're both laying in silence before Cookie asks Anika a question that's been on her mind for a while.

"Why did you send me that information about the lawyer?"

Anika looks up at Cookie and pauses for a moment before responding. "Because I loved you. And I refused to let Lucious take something else from me. I thought that maybe if I passed the info along then you'd come back. But you didn't."

"I know."

"Why did you hate me, Cookie."

It's Cookie's turn to sigh. "Because you had everything I wanted."

"What? Lucious?"

"No, well, yes. You had him, the job I wanted, 5 years with my sons while I was in prison on charges that I took for someone who didn't ecen care enough about me to tell me that he was divorcing me to my face."

"I had nothing to do with that, Cookie. I know you knew that."

"I did! But it didn't matter; you were everything that I wasn't and you had everything I wanted. And I hated you for it."

"And now you don't have Empire, your sole reason for hating me."

"Anika….I made a mistake and I'm sorry. But, I meant it when I said that I was done with Empire."

"How can you just be done?" Anika asks sitting up, "you said it yourself that Empire was what you wanted."

Cookie scoffs, "Empire was a dream realized before I got out. I didn't have any part in it."

"Other than your 400 thousand, right?"

Cookie sticks her tongue out but she's caught off guard when Anika sucks on it a bit before moving to straddle Cookie.

"As much as I wanted, I didn't have a hand in the day to day operations of Empire and I wouldn't have," Cookie says when Anika releases her tongue. "Lucious will never give up that much control and the boys….that's their legacy. I don't want to mess that up for them."

"But what about you?"

Cookie shrugs, "I don't know."

Anika leans down to kiss Cookie before moving down to her jaw and leaving small pecks when she sits up quickly, startling Cookie.

"Do it yourself; make your own legacy."

Now Cookie is horny and confused. "What?"

"Create your own label," Anika says like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "As much as you wanted Empire, it belonged to Lucious. This is your chance to take the music world by storm without Lucious Lyon."

Cookie bursts out laughing. "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I don't know anything about running a label, Anika!"

"But you know music. You know that the heart of any label is the music and its artists. You already know what it takes to secure talent."

"But what about all the other shit that goes into creating a label? When we started, we set out to make music, not to make a label. I don't know anything about the financial aspect of running a label and don't you need a board of directors? How the hell do I even get a board of directors?"

"I'll help you," Anika says with an almost manic look on her face. She's so excited at the prospect of Cookie starting a label and Cookie starts feeling overwhelmed at her excitement.

Cookie takes a moment to really look at Anika. She supports her so much and is ready and willing to help her pursue a goal that she doesn't even know she wants to achieve. Cookie can't understand how Anika could even fix her mouth to say that she'd help her given the way she's treated her.

 _Because she loves you._

Anika is so devoted to the Lyons and their success and none of them deserve her.

"For real?"

Anika makes a face, "No, Cookie, for fake. _Yes_ , for real. I believe you can do this."

Cookie was speechless. No one has put her first like this and she can't help but feel that this is what she's been missing her whole life. Someone caring about and believing in _Cookie_. From the moment she was born she'd put aside her own desires to help nurture everyone else's and for the first time, she had someone who wanted to do it for her. She feels herself getting overwhelmed and she tries to push Anika off of her but Anika grounds her weight and stays put. She brings her hands up to Cookie's neck and caresses the sides with the pads of her thumbs. She reaches up and wipes away a rogue tear that Cookie didn't know had fallen.

Although she hadn't and wouldn't have asked, Anika was willing to give up her family for Cookie. Cookie had told Anika that she wouldn't choose her over her family and had broken up with her to boot, but Anika was relentless in her pursuit.

 _Because she loves you._

How had she come to love the woman she had once hated on sight? How was it even possible that she felt this much love in her heart for Anika at all?

Because Anika wasn't Lucious. She was beginning to understand that now and she didn't want to be like him: making false promises and leaving broken hearts in his wake. They'd both given up so much, why couldn't they have it all, together?

"You gotta do it with me," Cookie finally says and Anika nods in agreement.

"Okay, I'll start getting things ready for you and I'll-"

"No, Anika. I mean you gotta do this _with_ me, not for me. Be my partner."

Cookie doesn't know what to think when Anika suddenly bursts into tears and burrows her face into Cookie's neck. She doesn't know what the other woman is thinking or feeling but then Anika is placing kisses all over her face and Cookie realizes that she's crying happy tears.

It feels so good to see and feel Anika look happy after she's been unhappy for so long. Cookie promises herself that she's going to stop denying herself happiness, starting with loving Anika like she deserves.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I have no idea what it takes to create a record label other than money and a dream. To establish a timeframe, we are currently in October 2015. Lyon Dynasty doesn't and will not exist. Veronica was stolen from Empire by Beretti and is currently at Creedmoor.**

 **-ED**

AC Records was officially founded on August 4, 2015 after Cookie and Anika worked day and night creating their business plan, choosing potential unsigned artists and employees, and looking for investors. Cookie knew that Lucious had pull in the industry but she didn't realize how heavy of an influence he had until they started searching for investors. Neither woman wanted to use the entirety of their own funds from their respective Empire settlements to start the label so Anika reached out to none other than Billy Beretti of Creedmoor Records.

Cookie didn't trust Beretti as he had crossed Lucious in the past but that was exactly the reason Anika wanted to work with him. Beretti hated Lucious enough to invest in a label that could eventually compete with Empire. With Empire's success as of late and without good A&R, Creedmoor's talent roster was dwindling and it wasn't enough to keep the label afloat. Anika suspected that Lucious had a hand in the artists leaving Creedmoor - he'd ended up signing Kidd Fo-Fo right after it was clear that Cookie wasn't returning to Empire and he'd slipped Titan right from under Beretti with a cell phone while dude was in jail.

When word on the street turned from "Creedmoor is losing its artists" to "Creedmoor is about to fold," Anika jumped at the opportunity to talk to Beretti about investing in AC. Despite him initially laughing in her face, Anika had used the business savvy that Cookie admired so much and appealed to both his business and personal side. Anika explained that rather than having AC become a subsidiary of Creedmoor which he initially countered with after he stopped laughing, AC would be it's own entity as an independent label and he'd sit on the board of directors. What good would AC be as a subsidiary of Creedmoor if Creedmoor was already on the cusp of folding? He'd already lost his major artists to Empire and was beginning to become the laughing stock of the industry. Beretti didn't like that and threatened to throw her out of his office but Anika just crossed her legs and continued to explain the business plan. Having longevity in the industry wouldn't be enough to keep his label afloat and rather than having all of his artists jumping ship to Empire, the ones he did have left could transfer to AC or have their contracts bought out once the label eventually became defunct.

Negotiations to secure Beretti as an investor included Beretti sitting on the board of directors and being able to remain the executive producer of any artists he brought from Creedmoor. He wanted to become the executive producer of the entire label but Anika quickly informed him that the position was hers as Cookie was established as Head of A&R. Cookie and Anika wanted to start small and focus on the music that they both loved rather than focus on becoming a major label and competing with Empire from the jump. With one last appeal, Anika informed Beretti that with his new position, he'd be able to devote more time to his new wife and the child they were currently expecting. Anika knew that bringing up his impending parenthood was a shady move given that he'd lost his only child years before but she felt it was necessary to seal the deal. And it was.

AC Records was founded with 3 board members: Anika Calhoun, Loretha "Cookie" Lyon, and William "Billy" Beretti with Anika and Cookie as co-CEOs. The label began with 3 Creedmoor artists: Travie Wild, Madd Dogg, and Veronica, and the two formerly unsigned artists they saw in Atlanta. Anika reached out to her alumni association and found some recent graduates who didn't mind working long hours for experience and small salaries while working to build the next great label and soon enough they had an accountant, a graphic designer to create their logo and album artwork, and a PR/social media rep. A phone call to Mr. Paulson and Cookie is was in talks with securing an attorney for the label.

In addition to starting up AC, Cookie continued to try to repair the relationship with her sons. Once word got out that she and Anika were starting AC, Jamal blew up. He dropped Cookie as his manager and Lucious picked up the ball and ran with it. It had taken weeks to get Jamal to talk to her again but he finally came around. Although Cookie would've loved to have Jamal on her label - he would've been a commercial success - she knew that he still wanted to please his father and nothing short of Lucious personally dropping him would make him leave Empire. Although Cookie didn't like it, she understood Jamal's desire to please Lucious; to be seen as worthwhile in the great Lucious Lyon's eyes. She only hoped that Lucious would be able to see what he was doing to his son. Though as hateful as Lucious was, she doubted he would ever change.

Calls to Hakeem went unanswered. Per Jamal, Hakeem was upset that she had chosen to leave them yet again, and her leaving was made worse by her being with Anika. Hakeem had confided in Jamal that he'd caught feelings for Anika but she'd turned him down. "It's bad enough that she was with dad, Mal, but why she gotta be with mom, too?"

While Jamal had tried to explain to Hakeem that Cookie definitely didn't plan on falling for Anika, Hakeem wasn't trying to hear it and any explanations fell on deaf ears. But Hakeem was a grown man, in age if not in practice, and Cookie realized that Hakeem would just have to get over it on his own.

Cookie and Andre weren't particularly close even when she was at Empire but that didn't mean that she didn't miss her oldest son. Andre kept her at arms length but Rhonda was interested in getting to know the mother in law she had heard so much about but didn't really know.

As Cookie desired to become closer to Andre, she became closer with Rhonda. Rhonda shared with Cookie she and Andre's infertility struggles and how a miscarriage early in their marriage had devastated them. They'd been trying for a baby and had recently turned to IVF for assistance. Cookie hoped that her son and daughter in law would be able to experience parenthood and hoped that a grand baby would help bridge the gap between mother and son.

Anika and Cookie had lucked up on a building which would hold their offices and studio - Madd Dogg would serve as the head (and only) producer for the time being - which was where Anika was at the present time, or so Cookie thought. Cookie was in her apartment and sitting on the couch listening to recordings of live performances of some of the artists they were interested in when Anika walked in. They'd exchanged keys a few weeks prior after Cookie had damn near gotten Anika evicted after being locked out of Anika's apartment and finding out that Anika didn't have a spare key.

" _Who the hell doesn't have a spare key?"_

" _I live alone, Cookie, and I have a doorman. Why would I need a key?"_

" _Because of times like this!"_

" _No one told you to come to my apartment with hardly any clothes on."_

 _Cookie throws her hands up. "I thought you'd be home!"_

" _Which explains why you wore a trench and heels, nothing else."_

" _Hell, if I had known you wouldn't be home, I wouldn't have worn it and would've put on some damn clothes."_

 _The_ it _Cookie spoke of was a strap-on which was currently around her waist, though it was hidden underneath her coat. She had planned on surprising Anika with something new but her plan was foiled when she couldn't get inside the apartment._

 _Anika had gotten a call from her doorman who told her that a neighbor had called in a complaint that Cookie was banging on Anika's door and causing a ruckus on her floor trying to get the door open. Cookie later told her that she refused to go downstairs for fear of the strap becoming visible. Anika went and made Cookie a key the very next day._

 _But not before using the strap._

Cookie ended up giving Anika a key to her apartment later that evening which was where they usually ended up. Seeing Anika out of the corner of her eye, she raised her head for a quick kiss before turning back to her laptop and watching performances. Cookie wasn't listening with headphones so the music was blaring throughout the living room. Anika went into Cookie's bedroom to change into more comfortable clothing before coming back out and sitting on the opposite end of the couch with her own laptop.

The artist Cookie is listening to sounds pretty good and she's singing a cover of Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling in Love. Anika can't help but think the song is fitting.

 _Wise men say only fools rush in  
But I can't help falling in love with you_

She's been with Cookie for just about 4 months, off and on, and she's known her for less than a year but she knows she's in love with her and doesn't want to live without her.

 _Darling so it goes  
Some things are meant to be_

She'd lied to Cookie earlier. She wasn't at the office; instead she went to a jeweler where she'd been looking for the last 2 months for the perfect ring to give to her girlfriend. She wound up picking one that fit Cookie perfectly - flawless, like her beauty, with just enough weight to make you look twice and then look again to make sure you were able to see it all.

 _Take my hand, take my whole life too_

During one of their spats, Cookie tried to push Anika away by telling her she deserved to be able to have a family. That she wasn't worth the hassle of never speaking to her parents again. And that she couldn't give her what she needed.

Anika was pissed. Hadn't they been through enough? She was so tired of people telling her what she needed and what she deserved. Why couldn't Cookie just let her do what she was wanted which was to simply love Cookie and build their label?

"You're my family, Cookie. You're it for me!"

Anika had never really been set on having children and she'd told Cookie as much. Maybe they'd be nice to have but she didn't need to be a mother. The mother in Cookie didn't understand how Anika could be so nonchalant about not having children but Anika assured her that she'd be fine and wouldn't change her mind later down the line.

Despite Cookie trying to push her away, Anika took the conversation as to mean that Cookie was worried about their future together. But Anika meant what she said. Cookie was it for her.

Which was why she slid a black box across the couch and watched as it landed by Cookie's thigh.

 _For I can't help falling in love with you_

The song ends and the apartment is quiet save for their breathing which Anika notes that Cookie's is markedly more shallow.

"I'd be careful about telling me no, Cookie. You know I'll eventually get what I want."

Cookie doesn't say no but she also doesn't say anything for a long time. The air is so still that Anika worries that Cookie has actually stopped breathing. Finally, she picks up the box and opens it to reveal a 4 carat cushion cut diamond in a halo setting. The ring is blindingly gorgeous and Anika feels Cookie shaking even though they're on opposite ends of the couch.

Cookie takes the ring out of the box and stares at it for a moment like she's in a trance before placing it on her left ring finger. She closes the ring box and sets it down on the table in front of her before pressing play to hear the next song.

Anika smiles. She knows she's going to get her 'yes' all night long...and she hopes it involves the strap.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: First, thank you for the kind responses for the previous AN. Anytime you're accused of something, at least in my case, it takes you for a loop and I reacted very strongly - which was probably the Anon's intention. Lesson learned, definitely. And on the advice of another Anon, I have deleted your responses, at least the ones I could,** **including that rogue review. I know what my intentions were and are with Honestly and I plan on ending this story with those same intentions.**

 **I didn't think it was realistic to have them get married after 5 months of dating given their history so this chapter will run over the course of 10 months bringing us to August 2016. The last two chapters will see some time jumps as well. I planned to have them get married on GCI but since there's a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage that's been in place since 2009 for the Cayman Islands, that kinda messed up my plans since I want to stay as close to reality as possible. However, same-sex sexual activity is legal on the Islands so that left the honeymoon open territory.**

 **-ED**

"Are you fucking serious?!" Hakeem yells as he hears the tail end of Cookie's conversation with Jamal. Although Cookie wasn't Jamal's manager anymore, he still respected her ear for music and wanted to get her opinion on a few songs he had written. It didn't register to Cookie that she probably should've taken her ring off prior to entering Jamal's apartment. In fact, he'd stopped her as soon as he noticed the diamond on his mother's finger which was anything but inconspicuous.

"You can't be serious," Jamal deadpans.

A look of confusion crosses Cookie's face and Jamal picks up her hand to display her engagement ring. "Shit."

"Ma?" Jamal asks as his mother walks past him to his kitchen. She's hungry and she starts rifling through his refrigerator and cabinets for items to make a sandwich.

"I _knowwwww_ , Jamal," she says as she opens up a package of smoked turkey.

"You know what, exactly? Enlighten me because I'm confused. Y'all _just_ got together and now you're getting married?" he sits on a barstool and watches his mother make her sandwich.

"Look," she slaps his hand away as he tries to steal a piece of her turkey, "I didn't know she was going to ask me. I was just as surprised as you are now."

"But you still said yes," Jamal offered.

"Technically, I didn't," Cookie countered before she took a bite.

"But you're wearing the ring?"

Cookie nods before swallowing, "She knows how I feel; I wouldn't be wearing it if I was going to say no." And she wouldn't have. Cookie would've slid the box right back to Anika and told her she was out of her mind if Cookie didn't feel like she could spend the rest of days with Anika.

"That's a nice rock, though. It must've set her back a lot."

Cookie honestly didn't know how much the ring cost and Anika refused to tell her. She planned on getting the ring appraised but didn't know what she would do with the information. It wasn't like Anika would take it ring back if Cookie thought it cost too much.

"Maybe. I don't know. But Jamal, you have to promise me you won't open your mouth and tell anybody."

Jamal leaned back in his seat, a smile etched on his face. "Oh my God, dad is gonna flip. _Hakeem_ is gonna flip."

"Shut _up,_ Jamal. I don't wanna think about that right now," Cookie said as she continued to eat her sandwich. Neither of them heard the whirring of the elevator as it signaled that someone was coming up.

"This is nuts. Nah, this is amazing. I can't believe you're going to marry Anika." Jamal said right after the elevator dinged.

"Are you fucking serious?!"

Cookie and Jamal's heads whipped towards the elevator and they saw Hakeem step out.

"Look what you did!" Cookie said as she threw her napkin at Jamal which earned her a shrug in response. Jamal at least had the audacity to look guilty as he got out of the way. Any conversation that his mother was having with Hakeem was bound to be disastrous and he wanted no part in it.

"So you gon' marry her?"

Cookie rolled her eyes, "She has a name, Hakeem." mirroring Anika months before when Anika had more or less demanded that Cookie use her actual name.

"Alright. So you gon' marry Anika?"

"Hakeem…" There was no use denying it. Eventually, she did want to marry Anika. "Yes, I am."

"How are you just gonna marry somebody you don't even know?" Hakeem asked as Cookie finished the rest of her sandwich.

"I know her, Hakeem. You may not think I do because we haven't known each other very long, but I do."

"So just fuck my feelings, huh? I guess you gon' always put whoever you fucking over your family."

She feels badly for her son, truly she does, but she's tired of sacrificing her happiness for the sake of others. It's time to make Cookie happy.

"Hakeem, I'm sorry," she begins but stops. Why exactly is she sorry? She's not going to apologize for something she can't and doesn't want to help. She recognizes that she hadn't been present for her youngest son and that it's taken a toll on him, especially with Lucious as a father.

"I'm sorry for not being there for you. I'm sorry for missing 17 years of your life when it didn't have to be that way. I know how hard it was for you, son, because it was hard for me, too. I missed all of my sons but I think I missed my baby the most. But you're not a baby anymore. You didn't get the time that your brothers had and I can't give you that time back, but I'm here now."

Cookie wants so badly for Hakeem to see where she's coming from. She doesn't want to hurt him but she doesn't want to lose Anika either. It appears that Cookie's desires don't matter because Hakeem doesn't respond to Cookie's apology, he just leaves Jamal's apartment the same way he came in. After he's sure Hakeem is gone, Jamal comes out of his bedroom.

"You alright, ma?" he asks as he wraps his mother in a hug.

A sniff, "Yeah, Mal. I'm good," she responds as she accepts the hug. She couldn't force Hakeem to feel differently about the situation, but she feels she's done what she can.

Over the next few months, Cookie and Anika's sole focus was getting AC on the map as records were recorded and singles were chosen. Working with Beretti was far less difficult than Cookie thought it would be but they still had their moments when he'd attempt to overstep his boundaries and Cookie had to put him back in his place. Cookie was quick to let him know that this wasn't Creedmoor and he wasn't in charge anymore.

Working on the label, however, had left very little time to plan a wedding. As far as Cookie was concerned, they could extend their engagement for a few years. It wasn't that she wasn't in a hurry to marry Anika, she just wanted AC to continue to be their focus as they continue to establish themselves. Anika, on the other hand, was getting restless.

"Do you want to marry me, Cookie?"

Cookie fought not to roll her eyes. They'd been having the same conversation for the past 3 months. Neither woman was ready to get married when Anika first proposed but it'd been some time now and Cookie hadn't budged.

Exasperated, Cookie replied, "Yes, Kitten, I want to marry you."

"So what are we waiting for?"

Cookie sat on the bed she'd been sharing with her fiancé. How could she begin to explain how she was terrified that their marriage would end like her previous one did? Cookie had no plans to return to prison but that didn't mean that their relationship wouldn't fail and they'd end up divorced. Cookie thought that she would be Mrs. Lucious Lyon for the rest of her life and he ended that by mailing her divorce papers. And then there was her family. Hakeem still wasn't talking to her and although Jamal was supportive, Andre still kept her at arm's length. Carol was in rehab once again and Candace pretended that her middle sister didn't exist. Anika's own family had stayed true to their word and hadn't spoken to her since she saw them on GCI.

"I don't want to mess this up," Cookie finally stated.

Anika's eyes softened and she crawled over the bed to sit in front of Cookie.

"I think you're giving yourself too much credit. You won't mess anything up," Anika said as rubbed Cookie's thigh.

"You don't know that, Anika."

Anika nodded, "I do, actually. You love me too much to deliberately hurt me." Before Cookie could say that she'd hurt her in the past, Anika spoke again. "You aren't the same Cookie that you were back then, just like I'm not the same Anika. We've hurt each other and we'll hurt each other again, but it won't be on purpose. You have all the power to break my heart, but you won't. I have faith in that, I just wish you did, too."

Cookie took Anika's words to heart. She strove to make her relationship with Anika as different as possible compared to her relationship with Lucious. They were on equal footing and worked towards the same goal, both professionally and personally. Maybe it was time that she took a leap of faith and trusted herself, trusted her partner.

Cookie picked up Anika's iPad which was sitting on the nightstand. She opened up the calendar app and selected Saturday, August 6, 2016. She handed the iPad to Anika as she spoke, "a marriage license is valid for 60 days. It's June 29th so if we go next week, that gives us some time to find a venue."

Anika looked up at Cookie and somehow she was always surprised by the amount of love that she saw in Anika's eyes. Anika leaned forward to kiss Cookie, "It's a date," she said against her lips.

And so, on August 6, 2016 in a small chapel in Niagra Falls with Jamal standing by her side, Cookie Lyon vowed to love, honor, cherish, and "fuck obeying. Nobody is obeying anybody up in here," Anika. In turn, Anika Calhoun vowed to love, honor, and cherish Cookie, although with much less dramatics with Rocky was by her side. They'd chosen to keep the wedding intimate as neither woman had a long list of people they wanted to invite to the wedding and who would actually show up. Cookie invited all of her sons and as she predicted, only Jamal responded. Anika refused to invite her parents on principle, just inviting Rocky.

Finding a venue was more difficult than they'd anticipated. Cookie refused to be married by a Justice of the Peace as that was how she was married to Lucious. Anika didn't want a grand affair and was content with having the ceremony being just the two of them and their officiant. Though it wouldn't be the wedding that she had envisioned growing up - Cookie definitely didn't look like the groom she had pictured - she doubted that she'd want to change anything about it.

They'd looked at different venues online and when Anika had found a link to a small chapel in Niagra Falls, she immediately wanted to see it in person. They flew to the Falls and Anika fell in love with the chapel. It was intimate, had a spectacular view of the Falls and just felt right. Cookie had to admit that the scenery was beautiful; she'd never been to Niagra Falls and the waterfalls created the perfect backdrop.

Anika and Cookie each walked down the aisle by themselves and stood facing each other. Behind Cookie, Jamal had started to hum the chorus to TLC's Waterfalls and Cookie casually stepped on his foot in response, effectively stopping his humming. When it was time to seal their union with a kiss, Cookie did a little shimmy before bringing Anika closer to her for their first kiss as wife and wife.

After the ceremony, they had dinner with Jamal and Rocky before they headed to their hotel room to consummate their marriage. Their flight to George Town was scheduled for Monday in which they'd be flying into JFK and then flying out to the Island. Jamal headed back to New York while Rocky headed back to New Haven on Sunday leaving the couple to their own devices until they flew to GCI.

Although Cookie was worried about both of them leaving the label for their honeymoon, Anika felt their employees could handle the workload until they returned. AC had grown tremendously since they'd started a year ago, but they were still small compared to Empire and the other majors. Veronica's latest single had hit number one on the R&B charts and the other artists' records were slowly climbing up the charts as well.

Upon touching down in George Town, Anika drove their rental to a secluded villa right on the beach. As Cookie sorted through her luggage, Anika walked down to the beach and sat down facing the water. She hadn't been back home since Gran's death and she missed feeling the sand beneath her. After a few moments, she felt Cookie slide behind her so Anika was sitting between her legs. Cookie leaned back so she could support both of their weight and Anika made herself comfortable against her wife. The sun was just beginning to set causing the sky to become a mixture of purple, pink and orange. They sat together in silence as they watched the sun set completely and watched the ocean turn black. They were close enough to the villa that a soft glow of light would guide them back to the house.

Cookie trailed a dusted the sand off of her right hand before stroking Anika's stomach and kissing the side of her neck. Anika moaned, "mmmmm…..I don't recommend having sex on the beach. You get sand...aaahh...everywhere." Cookie was focused on biting Anika's neck when she paused.

"And how would you know?"

Anika turned and looked at Cookie whose face held a look of indignation.

"Awww, is Cookie jealous?"

Cookie tweaked one of Anika's nipples and smirked as she jumped.

"Not at all. Besides, the only one you're going to be fucking from now on is me. Wife...for...life," she said as she placed kisses on Anika's lips.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Well, we've reached the last chapter which is crazy in itself as Honestly went from a one-shot to a two-shot to a full-fledged story. It's definitely been an experience to say the least.**

 **For time frame, the chapter starts in April 2019 and ends in September 2019.**

 **In my Cardi B voice, BooBooCookie...** _ **foreva**_ **.**

 **-ED**

When Cookie opened the door to the apartment she shared with her wife, the last thing she expected was to see was her wearing nothing but the lingerie she was wearing when Cookie entered the home of Lucious Lyon and his fiancé Anika Calhoun. Cookie smiled as she remembered her first glimpse of Anika's taut body. Anika thought she was intimidating Cookie by walking out in nothing but some high-end drawers but Cookie couldn't be intimidated, or at least she thought she couldn't. No, it wasn't Anika's body that intimidated Cookie, despite how good it looked. No, it was her confidence. Anika was always so sure of herself; of her beliefs. Even when she had doubts about whether Cookie loved her or wanted her - which she did on both accounts - she knew that her love for Cookie could withstand anything, even Cookie herself. And that scared the shit out of her. Even though they'd been married for nearly 3 years, Cookie still waited for the other shoe to drop. It always did.

Cookie had a meeting with executives from The Coca-Cola Company about creating a partnership between the label and the beverage corporation. They were hoping to secure a few AC artists as spokesmen for the soft drink but by the end of the meeting which included touring the headquarters, she wasn't impressed. She'd been in Atlanta for 4 days and she missed her wife. Although, with the problems they'd been having as of late, she was sure Anika welcomed the temporary separation.

Before Cookie left they'd gotten into an argument about them going to her parent's house for Easter. About a year and a half after they married, Anika's father reached out to Anika stating that he hadn't wanted to go the rest of his life without speaking to his only child. Anika had made it clear that she wouldn't stand for any bigoted or snide comments about her or her wife. She also told her father that if they couldn't accept Cookie then she wouldn't be able to share a space with them.

Her father made a comment about her staunch loyalty to Cookie despite everything that they've been through. Anika held her phone in her hand as she watched Cookie dance around their kitchen while eating popcorn. To say that she loved Cookie wouldn't begin to explain the loyalty she had for the older woman but it was all she had. She didn't think her father could understand that because of his relationship with her mother so she just offered, "she makes me better," and hoped that that would appease him.

Towards the end of their conversation, her father stated that there wouldn't be any more issues going forward regarding Cookie not being welcome in their home. When Anika brought up the phone call, Cookie had outright refused inviting them to their home even though Anika owned the apartment. On the other hand, she didn't want to be on Claire's property should she have to beat her ass. Hoping to please both sides, Anika found a restaurant where the four of them could meet and have dinner. At the restaurant, Cookie and Claire were icily cordial to one another; Anika had warned Cookie beforehand to keep her barbs at bay and she had to admit, Cookie really was trying. She'd only hoped that her father had done the same for her mother. Regardless of what he had said on the phone, Anika knew her mother and Claire Calhoun would be fine at first and then her true feelings would show.

True to form, her mother made a comment about Cookie having reformed from her criminal ways and turning into an acceptable member of society. Cookie put her fork down and folded her hands.

"The only thing reformed about me is the fact that I'm not dragging you across this table."

" _Cookie!"_

Claire lifted her drink in a nod to Cookie. "And there's the hoodrat. See, Stanley, I told you this wouldn't work."

" _Mom!_ "

Cookie stood up from the table and leaned in so she was in Claire's face. "Give me a reason to drag you, ho."

The next thing Anika knew, a drink was thrown although Anika couldn't tell who actually threw it as fists started flying and both women were wet. Horrified, Anika pulled Cookie away from her mother and drug her out of the restaurant and to her car. Anika was so furious that she hadn't bothered parking in her usual spot when they got home. She just put the car in park in front of the apartment building and got out, leaving Cookie in the car. By the time Cookie got upstairs, Anika was already in bed and the lights were off. It was the first time they'd gone to bed angry with each other since they'd been married; Cookie at Anika because she suggested the meet up and Anika because Cookie physically fought her mother.

Their anger eventually wore off and they picked up where they left off but Cookie had refused to have anything to do with Anika's mother since then. Cookie could hold a grudge like no other and was perfectly content with never seeing Anika's mother again. And Anika obliged, she hadn't asked Cookie about spending time with her parents again, until recently.

When Anika approached Cookie about going to her parent's house, Cookie walked away before Anika could even get the words out completely.

" _Cookie!"_

" _I'm not going, Anika!"_

" _How is it that when it comes to your family, you have no problem associating with them in spite of their animosity towards me, but when it comes to my family, forgiveness doesn't exist?"_

" _Your mother hates me, why would I go to her house knowing that?"_

" _Because they're my parents! Lucious still hates me but we still spend holidays at his home." Anika found it weird but since Cookie's sons wanted their parents together for the holidays and Anika was Cookie's wife, she tagged along._

" _They've been your parents all this time and you haven't said shit before now. You haven't even spoken to them."_

" _You're wrong. I've been talking to my dad, you've just never been around. And it shouldn't matter how long I've gone without speaking to them! I'm asking you to do one thing and that's come with me to spend time with my family. Rocky and Xavier will be there, too. This will be the first time that all of the stateside family will be together in God knows how long...I just want to be with my family and that includes you."_

The discussion was tabled as Cookie had left for Atlanta and the issue hadn't been resolved prior to her leaving. When she returned she expected Anika to be in bed; it was a little after 11 p.m. on a Wednesday night and Anika was usually under the covers and dead to the world by now. Cookie had texted Anika to let her know that her flight was about to take off around 8 p.m. and she'd received a 'K' in response which in hindsight was more than she expected to receive at all.

She hung her keys up and set her luggage down by the door.

"I thought you'd be asleep by now."

Anika shook her head, "My wife was coming home, I had to make sure I was up to meet her."

Cookie was apprehensive and it showed. Anika had barely spoken to Cookie when she was gone and here she was was trying to seduce her.

"What's going on?" Cookie asked as Anika wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed her once.

"I can't welcome you home?"

"Now you want to welcome me? When I left you barely said anything other than 'have a safe flight' and bye. What's going on? "

"Nothing! I just missed you, is all."

"And this has nothing to do with me not wanting to be near your mama?"

Anika kissed her, "No. Because you're going."

Cookie removes Anika's arms from around her. "I already told you I wasn't going."

"Cookie-"

"No, Anika! Every time I see your mother she talks shit about me! Your daddy don't give a damn either way but your mama hates me and I'm not going anywhere I'm not wanted."

Anika schooled Cookie with a look. "Feels terrible, doesn't it? Knowing that every time you're around someone they hate you? I feel that way every time I'm around your family. We've been married for 2 and a half years and Hakeem _just_ started acting like a decent human being and stopped making snide ass remarks. Lucious hates me and he always will but I still go with you because I know you want to spend time with your sons and I understand that he's part of the package. She's my mother, Cookie. No matter what she does...she's still my mother."

Cookie went to pick up her luggage to deposit it in the bedroom. "I'm sorry, Anika, but I'm not going."

Needless to say, Cookie didn't get any nookie that night.

When Easter had rolled around, Anika said nothing to Cookie as she prepared to go to her parents' house. She didn't even kiss her goodbye before she left like she always did. Unless it was work related, Anika didn't speak to her at all which surprised Cookie. Whenever they fought, Anika was always the first to yield, even if Cookie was in the wrong. She didn't like fighting and wanted it over as soon as it began but Cookie was stubborn.

She hadn't thought to make any plans with her sons for the holiday because she just knew that Anika would see her point of view and they'd spend the holiday together. But Cookie was wrong and she'd been left alone as a result.

She cried out in frustration before getting up from the bed. This was bullshit.

* * *

Anika sat the the dining room table with an empty space next to her. Rocky and her fiancé Xavier were across from her and her parents were on either end of the table. When she arrived at the home sans Cookie, her mother renewed her diatribe against Cookie. Even if she was mad at her, she wondered if Cookie had the right idea. Why was she putting herself through this?

"Where's your hoodrat, Anika?" Claire questioned as they were seated at the table. Anika had already had a glass of wine upon arrival and was starting on another. Without Cookie beside her, it was going to be a long lunch.

"I thought you said you spoke to her, dad?"

" _Claire_ ," Stanley said in warning. He had indeed spoken to his wife before everyone arrived but it didn't seem to do any good.

Claire shrugged, "I'm only asking because I thought she'd be here. Turns out I've hid the silver for nothing," she said haughtily.

"Oh, shut _up_ , mom! Your cracks about Cookie being a thief are tired and inaccurate and I'm getting sick of it."

"You will NOT talk to me like that in my own home. I am your mother-"

"And she's my _wife_!"

Rocky and Xavier sat watching the dispute between mother and daughter, wisely choosing to stay out of the conversation. While Anika and Claire were arguing, the doorbell rang and Hilly went to answer the door.

"Some wife she's proven to be. I can't believe that you would take the time to defend someone who isn't even here."

"Hey baby, sorry I'm late. Traffic was a bitch," Cookie said as she shook her coat off and handed it to Hilly before sliding into the seat next to Anika. She placed a quick kiss on Anika's lips before taking a sip of the wine that was placed before her, oblivious to the stunned look on Anika's face. Looking straight at Claire, she asked "I didn't miss anything, did I?"

Rather than waiting for Claire to say some unpleasant comment about his daughter-in-law, Stanley interjected and addressed her.

"No, Cookie, you're right on time. We were just about to start lunch."

Cookie flashed him a smile, "Great! And thanks again for inviting us, I know it's been a while."

"Water under the bridge," Stanley moved his hand in a dismissive motion. He had gotten the message loud and clear that Anika and Cookie were a packaged deal. If he wanted his daughter in his life, he had to get used to her wife. They'd spent too much time apart as it was, no need to continue to fight with Anika over something that wouldn't change.

Cookie began talking to Rocky about her upcoming nuptials.

"I heard you're tying the knot. Congratulations," Cookie said with a smile. Rocky was about the only family member that Anika talked to on a regular basis that she liked.

"Yeah, couldn't let Nini one-up me for too long. I'm the last one to get married and we're the last to have kids out of the cousins so I thought I'd get it together. Should everything go well, we'll have at least one of those accomplished by the end of November."

It was then that Anika noticed that while everyone else had wine in their glasses, Rocky's held water.

Anika's jaw dropped before she let out a scream and jumped out of her chair to run to the other side of the table. She scooped Rocky up in a hug and squeezed her before letting go.

"Sorry, sorry! I don't wanna hurt the baby," she said as she leaned down to Rocky's stomach and began talking to the baby.

"Yes, this is your favorite auntie Nini. Yes it is!"

"I like how you promoted yourself to auntie, _cuz_ ," Rocky laughed as Anika continued to talk to her belly.

Cookie watched as Anika fawned over Rocky and looked towards Anika's parents who were also watching the scene. Anika righted herself and hugged Xavier before making her way back to her seat, still beaming. She was so happy for her cousin. She looked over to Cookie who held a strange look on her face. She looked at her parents whose faces held similar looks, except her parents' held looks of sudden realization.

Before Anika could ask Cookie what was the matter, Hilly began serving their lunch. The family members began eating and Anika began questioning Rocky about her symptoms thus far. Her morning sickness had transformed into all day sickness and she was hungry _all the time_ , but overall she was alright, just excited. Anika and Rocky continued to talk when suddenly Claire's eating utensils fell onto her plate loudly, causing the others to look up, startled.

"I'm sorry, but I can't just sit here- Anika, _how_ can you act like all of this is fine when it's not?! You're never going to be able to have children married to her! You'll never have a family. How can you be okay with that?"

Anika opened her mouth to retort but Cookie's voice came out.

"Mrs. Calhoun. Regardless of whether or not Anika and I decide to expand our family, _and we are a family, all by ourselves_ , it'll be between Anika and I. It's none of your business either way."

"Like you're seriously going to start a family with my daughter. You have a son older than Anika for goodness sakes! You might as well be screwing your own daughter!"

Cookie, Anika, and Rocky all sat uncomfortably as they remembered when Anika had slept with Hakeem. Although they were close in age, closer than she and Cookie, Anika eventually did become his stepmother.

"Claire, that's enough-" Stanley started before Claire cut him off.

"No, Stanley, I'm not going to sit here and watch her ruin-"

" _I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!"_ Nostrils flared and red-faced, Stanley banged his fist on the table hard enough to rattle the tableware.

"How long are you going to keep doing this? She's married for crying out loud! Do you think it would be better if she married that Lyon guy? You'd still find something to harp on her about!"

"Now he decides to grow a backbone. Don't act like you've been on board with this whole lesbian thing. You were ready to send her out of the country when she messed around with that other girl and you never liked Lucious," Claire returned.

"No, I haven't and I didn't, but pushing her away isn't going to solve anything. We've fucked up, Claire. Anika isn't a child anymore and she's not going to keep taking our shit." He addresses Anika, "Honestly, sweetheart, I don't even know why you're here. We don't deserve your forgiveness and I should've said this a long time ago...I'm sorry."

Anika is silent and can only nod as she processes what just transpired.

"I don't believe this…you've lost your mind," Claire states, losing steam.

"No, I think I've found it, actually," asserts Stanley.

"You know what, I think it's time for us to be heading home," Cookie says as she starts to get up from the table.

"Us, too," Rocky says as she throws her napkin on the table and waits as Xavier helps her up. She isn't that far along but she's eating up the way he handles her with such care.

Cookie stands up and holds out her hand while she waits for Anika to get up from her seat, "Baby, you ready?"

Anika scoots back and gets up from her chair, taking Cookie's hand in the process. She walks over to where her father is sitting and leans over to give him a kiss on the cheek. With one last look at her mother, she walks out with Cookie, Rocky and Xavier beside her.

Since Anika drove and Cookie took a cab, they rode back home together. The silence isn't awkward but it isn't welcomed either. As they wait at a red light, Anika leans her head on the window and sighs.

"Do you want kids?" Cookie asks, glancing at Anika.

"Hmm?" she hums. She'd been in her head the entire drive and didn't hear what Cookie said.

"Kids. Do you want them?"

Anika looks at Cookie then and sees the same look she saw at the table.

"I thought we had this conversation before?"

"We did but this afternoon….you were so excited. You don't want that?"

The light is green and Anika starts driving again. "I haven't really thought about it. I mean, I've _thought_ about it, but kids have never really been that high on my list of priorities, you know that."

Cookie thinks back to a conversation they had early in their relationship. She could understand why Anika was apprehensive about having kids given her history.

"Why, do you want kids?"

Cookie's response was a quick "Hell no."

"Been there, done that. I'm not trying to have anymore kids. I'm too old for that mess."

"I'm fine with it just being you and me, Cookie. I promise."

"Are you sure? You're not going to wake up one day wanting to be somebody's mama?"

Anika glances at Cookie before putting her eyes back on the road.

"I'm sure, Cookie."

Cookie leans back in her seat, "Okay, then."

* * *

It's turns out that Rocky isn't the only expectant mother. Rhonda calls Cookie to let her know that she and Andre are expecting a baby boy just after labor day. It takes Cookie a while but when she realizes that she's going to be a grandmother, she calls Anika to share the news.

When Rhonda's water breaks, Andre is the one to call Cookie and lets her know that they're en route to Mount Sinai. Cookie and Anika head to the hospital and arrive at the same time as Lucious. Jamal and Hakeem are already in the waiting room and watch as their parents eye each other.

Since Cookie and Anika started AC and married, Lucious had been hostile to say the least. The queen of his Empire had returned to her throne only to be stolen and claimed by another.

"I thought this was family only," Lucious says from his seat.

"Don't start, Lucious," Cookie says as she stands next to Anika.

"I'm not starting anything," he crosses one leg over the other and holds his arms out in a shrugging motion, "I'm just saying...this is a family affair."

"Then I guess I'm in the right place," Anika says as she looks around for the restroom.

"I'll be right back, I have to go to the restroom."

Cookie offers to come with her but Anika refuses, "No, stay here with Jamal and Hakeem. I'll be right back."

She heads to the restroom and when she finds it, proceeds to handle her business. She washes her hands and upon walking out, she sees Lucious leaning on the wall adjacent to the restroom, seemingly waiting for her.

Throwing away the paper towel she used to dry her hands in a nearby trashcan, she walks in the direction of the waiting room and proceeds to ignore Lucious. He cuts her off at the pass as he steps in front of her, stopping all movement.

"You really holding on to this lesbian thing, huh?" Lucious asks her causing Anika to roll her eyes.

"It's not a _lesbian thing_ and it's none of your business so how about you step out of my way?"

"You know it won't last, right? This _thing_ she has going on with you. You may think she's gonna stay with you forever but one day she's gon' wake up one day and realize that she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life with Boo Boo Kitty and-"

He's capitalizing on her fears but she's not going to let him know that he's getting to her.

"And what? Run back to you? You can't be serious. Do you _really_ believe that she still wants you?

The vein on the side of Lucious' forehead bulged as he ground his teeth.

"You threw her away, Lucious. And you have no one to blame but yourself."

Anika steps past him and proceeds to walk away when he says, "You may have Cookie but you'll never be a Lyon."

Anika smirks, "No, I just married one." She leaves Lucious standing in the hallway as she makes her way back to Cookie who is sitting between Hakeem and Jamal. Jamal gets up and moves to the next seat so she can sit down next to Cookie and she smiles at him gratefully.

"Took you long enough," Cookie says as Anika is checking the time.

Lucious walks into the waiting room from the direction Anika had just come from. Cookie nor her sons had noticed that he had slipped out.

"Just had to clear some things up."

Cookie looked over to Lucious who sat in a chair away from the rest of the family.

"You alright?"

Anika nodded, "I'm good."

Jamal announced that Andre had sent him a text that Rhonda was now 10 cm dilated and was ready to push.

There was a buzz in the air as the family sat excited. Rhonda's most recent pregnancy before this one had ended in a late-term miscarriage which devastated the couple. Grieving their loss, they had decided to take a break from IVF and just appreciate the time they had together when Rhonda started feeling ill. Cautiously optimistic, she took a pregnancy test which came back positive. After receiving confirmation from her doctor, she told Andre and they agreed to wait until they were 20 weeks, well into the second trimester, to tell their families. They were expecting a son and Andre prayed everyday that this baby made it through.

After about 40 minutes, Andre slowly walked into the waiting room with tears in his eyes. The family stood up but didn't know if he was crying tears of joy or tears of sadness.

Cookie ran to hug Andre and he held onto her like he would when he was younger and sobbed in her arms. Cookie rocked them back and forth as Andre lifted his head and wiped his eyes.

"I heard him cry," another sob escaped his mouth. "He's perfect. He cried, ma! He cried!"

Lucious went over to hug Andre as Anika, Hakeem, and Jamal filed behind him. Cookie sent up a prayer of thanks for allowing her grandson to make it through the pregnancy and his birth.

After giving Rhonda time to get settled and the baby time to get acclimated to the outside world, the family piled into the room to see the new arrival.

Rhonda was holding the little guy who sported a cap and was swaddled in a receiving blanket.

"Oh my God, he's so precious!" Cookie exclaimed as she saw her grandson for the first time. Andre carefully took hold of the baby before passing him along to his grandmother.

"Oh, Andre, Rhonda, he _is_ perfect." Cookie bounced the baby around the room as she showed him to her wife, sons, and ex-husband.

"What's his name?" Hakeem asked. The new parents chose to keep the name of their son to themselves until the birth.

Rhonda answered Hakeem. "His name is Caleb Andre Lyon."

Cookie cooed at the littlest Lyon and pouted when Lucious took him from her arms so he could hold him.

After spending some time with the new family, Cookie, Anika, Lucious, Hakeem and Jamal walked out of the room to give them some space and began to fill the hallway. Anika holds Cookie's hand and intertwines her fingers their fingers as Cookie talks to Jamal. Hakeem is busy texting and Lucious is posting on social media about the newest member of the Lyon/Empire family.

As Cookie talks with Jamal, Anika finds herself watching all of them. Regardless of what Lucious may think, she has become a member of the Lyon family, whether he (or she for that matter) likes it or not. Anika is brought out of her reverie when she hears Jamal say her name.

"You know this makes you a grandmother, right?" Jamal asks her before he bursts out laughing.

Anika pales as Cookie joins in his laughter and kisses her on the cheek.

Later that night when they're cuddling on the couch and Cookie teases her about being a grandmother, Anika snatches the pillow that's under Cookie's head and begins hitting her with it. Cookie grabs the pillow and throws it across the living room before grabbing Anika by her wrists and pushing her back on the couch. As Cookie holds her arms above her head, it mirrors the time years ago when they'd first kissed and Anika subsequently confessed to sleeping with Hakeem.

It may be a familiar situation but this this time it's different. Cookie is hers and hers alone and this time there's nothing between them that will threaten their relationship. Cookie lets her thigh slip between Anika's before leaning down and kissing her. When Cookie lets her wrists go, Anika sits up and Cookie leans back on her knees. Anika goes to remove Cookie's shirt, but Cookie stops her.

Cookie takes a moment to study Anika and wonder how they've gotten to this point. She's never known a love like Anika's and given all of the shit she's put her through, she doesn't deserve it. She tells Anika she loves her, albeit not as often as Anika tells her, but she does and she means it.

It's moments like these that Cookie loves her the most. When it's just them and Anika is fiddling with the end of her shirt because she still wants to take it off but she'll wait until Cookie is ready.

And so she tells her,

"I love you, Anika."

And though Anika always says it back, without fail, her heart still skips a beat when she hears the words,

"I love you too, Cookie."

She lets Anika take off her shirt and pulls Anika closer to her as she places a kiss on her jaw.

"Wife."

She kisses her chin.

"For."

Cookie closes her eyes just before Anika kisses her lips.

"Life."


End file.
